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Golden

#2,583 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Literal meaning not recorded

Golden has been given to 5,229 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #2,583 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2023, with 67 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 56% boys, 44% girls all-time.

Babies named Golden, 2025

1 in 65,000

Golden over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Golden over time

In 2025, Golden went to 47% girls and 53% boys.

18802025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Golden: meaning, origin, and history

Literal meaning not recorded

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Golden means

Golden is a given name.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

* As an English surname, from the adjective golden. * As an Irish surname, from mag Ualghairg; see McGoldrick.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Golden (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Golden is used in English.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Golden is pronounced /ˈɡoʊldən/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 2,937 boys were recorded with the name Golden between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 67 in 2023; its best national rank was #493 in 1898.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #3,037 in 2020 to #2,583 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #3,812 in 2015 to #2,583 in 2025.

In the United States, 2,292 girls were recorded with the name Golden between 1884 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 62 in 1919; its best national rank was #624 in 1890.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #4,293 in 2020 to #3,416 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #7,083 in 2015 to #3,416 in 2025.

How common is Golden?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 65,000
51 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 33,500
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,583
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
45,058 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Golden sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 45,058 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Golden. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Goldens were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Golden was born before 1942 — so the typical Golden is around 83 today.

Median birth year
1942
About 83 years old
Biggest decade
1920s
15.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
22.5%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
1,313
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1920s — 15.4% of all recorded uses (451).

Is Golden rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+98
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+454
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,229
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.82×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
76.1%
Peak was 2023 (67)
Years since peak
2
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
28.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#493
1898

Spellings of Golden

Golden is not the most common spelling — Gordon is, with 36.9% against Golden's 0.70%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Golden is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Golden was most concentrated in West Virginia — about 1 in 10,000 boys, against 1 in 195,257 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in —).

010 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1West Virginia1 in 10,000
  2. 2Utah1 in 50,000
  3. 3Georgia1 in 100,000
  4. 4Kentucky1 in 100,000
  5. 5North Carolina1 in 100,000
  6. 6Alabama1 in —
  7. 7Arkansas1 in —
  8. 8California1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Golden has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Golden is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Golden was most concentrated in Kentucky — about 1 in 25,000 girls, against 1 in 214,687 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in —).

04 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Kentucky1 in 25,000
  2. 2Louisiana1 in 100,000
  3. 3Mississippi1 in 100,000
  4. 4California1 in —
  5. 5Florida1 in —
  6. 6Georgia1 in —
  7. 7Missouri1 in —
  8. 8Ohio1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Golden has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Golden around the world

Where Golden ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2006–2025
    #4,275
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2020–2020
    #2,283
    in 2020

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics and Statistics Canada. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Golden by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,583
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 454
Best rank ever
#493
1898
Peak year
2023
67 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,937
Count in 2025
51

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#3,416
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 877
Best rank ever
#624
1890
Peak year
1919
62 that year
First recorded
1884
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,292
Count in 2025
45

Names similar to Golden

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

TaydenCaedenLindenHaidenBrydenAaydenKaedenJaedenBrodenWaldenLyndenXaidenTildenPaydenRaydenJordenLaydenMaddenZadenHadenGraydenDraydenXaydenColden

Names with a curve like Golden

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Golden, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

WellingtonSylvanOswaldJudgeHendersonFerrisIgnatiusCrawfordJuneSilvioTillmanValentine

Sibling names for Golden

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Golden

Top names of 2023, Golden's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1898Boys' names starting with G