| Timothy | George | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Honoring God | Farmer, earth-worker |
| Origin | Greek | Greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | TIM-uh-thee | JORJ |
| Syllables | 3 | 1 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1959 (30,783) | 1921 (27,476) |
| In 2025 | 1,734 | 2,848 |
| Trend | Declining | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Timothy | George |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10,984 | 16,661 |
| 2010s | 28,234 | 28,407 |
| 2000s | 52,470 | 28,006 |
| 1990s | 107,772 | 35,246 |
| 1980s | 172,835 | 45,712 |
| 1970s | 181,260 | 64,757 |
| 1960s | 276,837 | 113,023 |
| 1950s | 198,324 | 181,031 |
| 1940s | 43,503 | 209,013 |
| 1930s | 5,105 | 192,289 |
| 1920s | 2,960 | 261,945 |
| 1910s | 1,918 | 176,609 |
| 1900s | 647 | 43,589 |
| 1890s | 650 | 43,358 |
| 1880s | 693 | 47,651 |
Timothy comes from the Greek Timotheos, “honouring God,” from timē (“honour”) and theos (“god”). Timothy was a young companion of the apostle Paul.
George comes from the Greek Georgios, “farmer” or “earth-worker,” from gē (“earth”) and ergon (“work”). St George, the dragon-slayer, is the patron saint of England.
George is more popular than Timothy today: about 2,848 US babies were given the name George in 2025, compared with 1,734 named Timothy.
Timothy means Honoring God (Greek origin), while George means Farmer, earth-worker (Greek origin).
In US records, Timothy first appears in 1880 and George in 1880, so Timothy has the longer recorded history.