BabyNameScore

Gideon

GID·ee·ən · 3 syllables

Gideon is distinctive.

91/100

Strong Practical Fit

Balanced across pronunciation, everyday use, lifetime fit and international use.

Name Profile

  1. Pronunciation & Spelling

    Effortless

    91/100

  2. Everyday Use

    Low risk

    95/100

  3. Growing Up

    Strong lifetime fit

    Works comfortably across child and adult settings.

    82/100

  4. International Use

    Broad international fit

    Works cleanly across the assessed languages and writing systems.

    85/100

NAME DETAILS

CLOSE SPELLINGS
Giddeon
ORIGIN & HISTORY

About the name

Feller, hewer (one who cuts down); commonly popularized by baby-name sites as "mighty warrior," a looser gloss built on the same image of someone who cuts down enemies rather than a separate literal translation. The literal Hebrew root ("to cut, hew") is well-supported and consistent across sources, but the popular "mighty warrior" gloss widely used by baby-name aggregator sites is an interpretive extension built on the biblical narrative rather than an independently confirmed translation, and is presented here as a lower-confidence popular reading rather than the name's core etymology.

  1. גִּדְעוֹן (Giḏʿōn) — Hebrew. The name entered wider English-language use following the Protestant Reformation and became particularly associated with Puritan naming practices, which favored biblical names carrying strong moral or heroic associations.
  2. Mythological and religious contextGideon is a major figure in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Judges (chapters 6-8): after the Israelites were oppressed by the Midianites, Amalekites, and other raiders for seven years, an angel commissioned Gideon to lead Israel, and he requested miraculous confirmation (fire from a rock, and the well-known "fleece" test of dew appearing selectively on wool versus ground). God then had Gideon reduce his army from 32,000 to just 300 men, selected by how they drank water, and this small force routed the much larger Midianite army at night using torches, clay jars, and shofars, going on to pursue and defeat the Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna. Gideon refused the kingship offered afterward, saying only God should rule, and Israel had 40 years of peace under his leadership. He is also called Jerubbaal ("Let Baal contend" or, per some scholarly readings, "Baal strives") elsewhere in the text.
POPULARITY

Gideon over time

United States
#337RANK

Rank #337 gives national context, not a classroom forecast.

Uncommon in current U.S. usage. Ranked #337 in the U.S., 2025.

SourceU.S. Social Security Administration · 2025 release

Pronunciation & Forms

SAY IT

GID·ee·ən

STRESS ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE

CLOSE SPELLINGS
  • Giddeon
OTHER-LANGUAGE FORMS
  • GidonModern Hebrew
PRACTICAL LIFE

How This Name Lives

AT SCHOOL & DAY TO DAY

Distinctive without being unfamiliar, with a well-known, positive biblical story (an underdog hero) that is easy for a child to grow into.

Cultural Footprint

Gideon has been used as a given name in English-speaking Christian communities since the Protestant Reformation, becoming especially popular among Puritan families who favored strongly biblical, virtue-associated names.

TRACEABLE ORIGIN
  1. Gideon of the Book of Judgesbiblical Israelite judge and military leader

More about Gideon

FORMALITY

Gideon generally serves as both the formal and everyday form; no widely-used short form is documented.

EDITORIAL SYNTHESIS

The Decision

Gideon is spelled without unusual letter patterns, and it holds up in everyday use. Surname-dependent compatibility remains unassessed until a surname is added.

STRENGTH

English speakers will most likely pronounce it correctly on the first try. Uses standard characters that systems widely handle cleanly.

BEST FIT

Everyday Use is the strongest-scoring part of this name — no obvious nickname traps, rhymes, or initial issues detected.

FULL-NAME CHECK

See how it works with a surname.

Gideon