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The first name 
Jordan

Jordan is a unisex first name, but it has been given primarily to boys for a number of years.

Jordan is well-known and popular!

Jordan is a very popular first name in the United States. It is currently ranked 79 in the SmartGenius ranking, and tens of thousands of babies are named Jordan each year: around 0.20 % of all newborn babies.

You won't believe all there is 
to discover about the name
 
Jordan

What does the name 
Jordan mean?

The first name Jordan (meaning ‘the descending river’ or ‘to go down’) is based on the river of the same name in the Middle East.

Did you know... that Jesus of Nazareth was supposedly baptized in the Jordan River? That is why many people still make pilgrimages to the river today.

Several famous people are called Jordan

Canadian actress

Jordan Alexander (*1993)
Alexander is a Canadian singer and actress. She first gained recognition for starring in the Facebook Watch series Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones, followed by her breakout role as Julien Calloway in the HBO Max series reboot of Gossip Girl.

Actor and director

Jordan Peele (*1979)
He is an American comedy actor and director of horror films. His most famous film is Get Out (2017) for which he received an Oscar for Best Screenplay. In 2017, Peele was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

Professional golfer

Jordan Spieth (*1993)
The American professional golfer is considered one of the best golfers of his generation. He tied the 72-hole record set by Tiger Woods in 1997 and became the second youngest golfer (behind Woods) to win the Masters.

Professor of psychology

Jordan Peterson (*1962)
A Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and retired professor of psychology. He became well-known for his lectures and YouTube videos on topics such as self-improvement and the psychological foundations of ideologies.

Go on a journey to places 
with your name

When you hear the name Jordan, you might first think of people. But did you know that there are also places with the name Jordan? Are you also called Jordan? Maybe one day you will visit the places that are named just like you...

A small city...

in the south central region of the Minnesota is called Jordan. It is known for its historic downtown, and the Jordan American Legion Community Center.

Jordan River...

is a river in British Columbia, Canada, and in the state of Washington, USA. It is known for its recreational activities such as fishing and river rafting.

Jordan Hall...

is a building on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. It is home to the university's Biological Laboratories and the Department of Psychology.

A historical place...

is Jordan Valley, a region in the Middle East. It stretches about 225 miles from the Sea of Galilee in Israel in the north to the Arava desert in the south.

Jordan Dam...

is a hydroelectric dam located on the Catawba River in North Carolina, USA. It is part of the Duke Energy hydroelectric power generation system.

In Norfolk, Virginia...

lies the Jordan Bridge. It opened for use in October 2012 and spans over the Elizabeth River, providing a connection between Chesapeake and Norfolk.

Jordan -
from zero to hero

#16 - this is the highest position Jordan has ever reached. Not many names manage to reach such a high popularity in even one of the 140+ years of records. The last time Jordan reached this top spot at the end of the past century in 1998 when 21,523newborns were named Jordan. But as our statistics show, Jordan hasn't always been a popular name: in some years of record, most recently in the year 1890, it was given to newborn babies not at all or at least less than 5 times (a name is only included in the official statistics only if it is given at least 5 times in a year). Nevertheless, the name Jordan has accompanied people in this country for a long time. It turns out that this name fits very well in our modern times. From zero to hero – even if its peak is in the past, Jordan has become a fashionable name after all.

In years where the graph has no value, the name Jordan was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.

The first name Jordan withstands the modern trends of the 21st century

In 2022, 4,499 newborns were given the name Jordan, making this first name #120. Towards the end of the last century, the name had a real flight of fancy and still captivates many people today − just like the music of the 80s. So, the chances to meet a young Jordan are still quite high.

Jordan has 6 letters 
and begins with a J

Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: The letter J is a very popular first letter for given names. That’s because 8.3% of all common first names in the US begin with this letter. Only the initial letter A is more common for first names.

With six letters, the name Jordan is of average length. In fact, 28% of all common first names in the US consist of exactly six letters. 24% of all first names are shorter, while 48% have seven letters or more. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long. There are no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.

That means that if 8.3% of all first names start with a J, this initial letter occurs more than two times as often as all other letters on average.

Other names with 
J, o, r, d, a and n

If you take all the letters in the name Jordan – J, o, r, d, a and n – and put them together again, you can form other names, such as Jondra or others.

With hands, flags and sounds 
How to say Jordan

If your name is Jordan and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...

This is how you spell the name Jordan

So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Jordan, you can simply say:

Joker

Orange

Rocket

Dinosaur

Apple

Nut

This is how the name Jordan is spelled in the NATO phonetic alphabet

The NATO alphabet often helps people spell words on the phone or radio when there are communication problems.

How do you write Jordan in Braille?

Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.

Jordan

Jordan

You want to tell a deaf person that your name is Jordan

Just use American Sign Language!

The name Jordan is particularly colorful in the Semaphore flag signaling system!

These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.

J
O
R
D
A
N

Have you ever waved the name Jordan

In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.

J
O
R
D
A
N

Beeping like crazy...

In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Jordan sounds like this: