The Baby Name Wizard

Reader Contributions

Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name George!

Comments and insights on the name George: | Edit

George is a cool name. I'm starting to see a comeback either as a first or a middle name.

Personal experiences with the name George: | Edit

My son (14 mo) is asked about Curious George far more often than any political George. I have found the name to be very easy to "carry" with him.

My son (4 years) will be the only George in his class- Hurrah! We are never asked for clarification on spelling or gender; a seemingly common name that is uncommon today. Also, our George gets a kick out of how many older men with the name George we see on T.V.: the list is infinite! His comment is always, "Look! Another great George!"

My son (b. 2001) is named George. My husband is Romanian and proposed the name George, and I thought he was out of his mind. Then it grew on me, and now I like it. There are so many great names that people shorten or hack to make into not-so-great names (for instance, I like Peter, but don't like Pete). I like that George is an unpopular yet classic name that can't be shortened. And people remember it, too.

Nicknames for George: | Edit

Georgie, Geordie

Meanings and history of the name George: | Edit

St. George is the patron saint of England

Famous real-life people named George: | Edit

George Washingon, America's founding father and first president
George Herbert Walker Bush, the forty-first president of the United States
George Walker Bush, the forty-third president of the United States
George Carlin, American stand-up comedian
George Clooney, American actor and director
George Cukor, American director (My Fair Lady)
George Armstrong Custer, U.S. Army officer
George Eastman, American inventor and founder of the Eastman Kodak Company
George Gershwin, American composer of jazz and popular music (Porgy and Bess)
George Hamilton, American actor
George Frideric Handel, German composer (Messiah)
George Harrison, British musician (The Beatles)
George of Lydda (Saint George), the patron saint of England (among many other places and things), immortalized in the legend of St. George and the Dragon
George "Babe" Ruth, American baseball player and sports legend
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (Pygmalion)
George Washington Carver--American scientist and inventor
George Gordon, Lord Byron--British poet
George Perez, comic book artist
Used as a pseudonym by authors George (Mary Ann Evans) Eliot, George (Eric Blair) Orwell, and George (Amandine Dupin) Sand.
George "Spanky" MacFarland (Our Gang comedies)
Six British kings and two Greek kings

George Austen, Jane Austen's father

George in song, story & screen: | Edit

Curious George
George (Georgina), member of Enid Blyton's 'Famous Five'
George of the Jungle
George (Georgia) Nancy Drew books
George Weasley from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
George O'Malley from Grey's Anatomy
George Milton from the book "Of Mice and Men"
George Banks (Steve Martin), in "Father of the Bride." In the sequel, George is chosen as his grandson's name.
George Newman (Weird Al Yankovic), in UHF
George Bailey (James Stewart), from "It's A Wonderful Life"
"George" is dragon slang for humans in Gordon R. Dickson's 1987 book, "The Dragon and the George"
Hey There, Georgy Girl (1966 song by The Seekers, from the movie "Georgy Girl")