Jordan (name)

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Jordan
Pronunciation /ˈɔːrdən/ (jor-den)
Gender Unisex (originally a male given name)
Origin
Word/name Hebrew through Greek
Meaning Descend or flow down
Region of origin Israel
Other names
Related names Jorden, Jourdan, Jourden, Jordyn, Jordin

Jordan is used as a given name as well as surname for people, with its origins in the name of the Jordan River in Israel, which also gave its name to the country, Jordan. There are also other rivers named after the original river.

The form found in Western names originates from the Hebrew <templatestyles src="Script/styles_hebrew.css" />ירדןYarden, meaning "to go down", relating to the Jordan River flowing into the Dead Sea.[1]

According to the New Testament of the Bible, John the Baptist baptised Jesus Christ in the River Jordan,[2] and during the Crusades, crusaders and pilgrims would bring back some of the river water in containers to use in the baptism of their own children in Europe and Britain. It thus became popular as a first name.[1] The Germanic name Jordanes, which was the name of a 6th-century Gothic historian, may have popularised the name as well.[3]

The Greek form is Ἰορδάνης (Iordanes),[2] in Arabic it is Al-Urdunn, in Latin Jordanus, in Italian Giordano, in Spanish Jordán, in Portuguese Jordão, in German Jordan, in Dutch Jordaan, in French Jourdain, in Irish Iordáin or Riordan, in Romanian Iordan, in Bulgarian Йордан (Yordan) and in Catalan Jordà.

The English form of the name appears to have died out after mediaeval times, but started to be used again the 19th century, becoming especially popular in the U.S. and some other countries in the latter half of the 20th century.[3]

Jordan is used as either a given name or a surname. Until the late 1970s, "Jordan" was predominantly used as a male name in the United States, but later began to gain popularity as a female name as well. As of 2006, males accounted for 72.5% of people with this name in the U.S.[4]

Christianity

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Literature

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Modelling

  • Jordan Carver (born 1986), German model and actress
  • Katie Price (born 1978), British glamour model known as Jordan
  • Pamela Rooke (born 1955), British punk rock fashion model and actress known as Jordan

Science

Sports

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Television

Fictional

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References

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