George: Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, & Inspiration

Boy name origins & meanings

Greek : Farmer

What does George mean and stand for?

The name George is of Greek origin and means "farmer." It is from the Greek name Georgios, which was derived from the Greek word georgos, meaning "farmer, earthworker".

Syllables: 1

Boy name variations

Family name origins & meanings

English, Welsh, French, South Indian, etc. : from the personal name George, Greek Geōrgios, from an adjectival form, geōrgios ‘rustic’, of geōrgos ‘farmer’. This became established as a personal name in classical times through its association with the fashion for pastoral poetry. Its popularity in western Europe increased at the time of the Crusades, which brought greater contact with the Orthodox Church, in which several saints and martyrs of this name are venerated, in particular a saint believed to have been martyred at Nicomedia in ad 303, who, however, is at best a shadowy figure historically. Nevertheless, by the end of the Middle Ages St. George had become associated with an unhistorical legend of dragon-slaying exploits, which caught the popular imagination throughout Europe, and he came to be considered the patron saint of England among other places.

Famous people with this first name

George Harrison

George Lucas

Famous people who gave their babies this name

Kate Middleton

Kristin Scott-Thomas

William Wales - Prince of England

Zac Hanson

Popularity

According to Social Security Administration data, George has fluctuated up and down, but maintained a spot in the top 200 since 2000. George even broke the top 120 in 2019, ranking in at its peak of 119, before slightly falling again.

However, it is the 20th most popular name on FamilyEducation.com.

According to Google search data analysis, in the last five years George was at its peak popularity in June 2020.

George has been a popular royal and saintly name, as it was the name of the king of Britain for 116 years straight and the name of Saint George, who symbolizes good conquering evil. There's also, of course, the father of America: George Washington. Other notable namesakes include George Forman, George Handel, George Shaw, George Bush (Senior and Junior), George Gershwin, George Burns, George Clooney, George Shearing, George Steinbrenner, George Lopez, George Stephanopoulos, George Harrison, George Orwell, George McGovern, George Lucas, and George Clooney. It is also a rather popular name for fictional characters, appearing in two Jane Austen novels, Curious George, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Seinfeld, Harry Potter, Mary Poppins, and Grey's Anatomy to name a few.