Gideon

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 5 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Gideon is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Indonesian given name5.8K records spelled Gideon3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Philippines

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Gideon'

• Hebrew given name3.7K records spelled Gideon8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Israel, United States, Germany, United Kingdom

  Also written גדעון, Gidon, Gedeon, גידון, גדאון

• a separate given name2.4K records spelled Gideon2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, Nigeria, South Africa

  Also written Gidéon

66 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Gideon is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Gideon: 'Hewer' or 'One who cuts down'; Jerubbaal: 'Let Baal contend'; Jerubbesheth: 'Let shame contend' (a polemical substitution of 'shame' for 'Baal').

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Gideon represents the power of faith and obedience over numerical strength, demonstrating that deliverance comes from God rather than human might.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• A strong, classic name implying a mighty warrior or one who cuts down obstacles.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• from the Biblical name meaning ‘one who cuts down’ in Hebrew. It was borne by an Israelite leader appointed to deliver his people from the Midianites (Judges 6:14).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, Initialism of Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network, a medical decision support tool.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 133 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Ernst Gideon von Laudonb. 1717LVAustrian general (1717–1790)
• Gideon Grangerb. 1767USAmerican Postmaster General (1767-1822)
• Gideon Mantellb. 1790GBBritish scientist and obstetrician (1790–1852)
• Gideon Sundbäckb. 1880SESwedish-American inventor (1880-1954)
• Gideon Levyb. 1953ILIsraeli journalist
• Gideon Saarb. 1966ILIsraeli politician
• Duma Bokob. 1969BWnot in their usual namePresident of Botswana
• George Osborneb. 1971GBnot in their usual nameBritish politician (b. 1971)
• Gideon Emeryb. 1972GBBritish actor
• Gideon Adlonb. 1997USAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 437 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Gideon?

We estimate roughly 19 thousand people bear Gideon (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Gideon have the most bearers?

We estimate about 16 thousand people bear Gideon in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled gideon.

How common is Gideon compared with other names?

In Ghana, Gideon is the 131st most common given name of 14,190 given names recorded there.

Is Gideon a male or female name?

Gideon is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Gideon mean?

Recorded meaning: from the Biblical name Gideon, literally 'one who cuts down' in Hebrew