Top 40 US name Girls' name Peak 2003 529,733 births

Grace — #40 US girls' name

529,733 babies named Grace in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2003. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s152271890s238041900s269271910s579731920s600601930s313571940s193691950s159291960s112141970s60991980s117961990s398722000s1107152010s730332020s26358
#40
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 99.8% of names given to girls today.

2000s
Peak decade

21% of everyone ever named Grace was born in this single decade.

2003
Single peak year

12,781 babies were named Grace in 2003 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Grace

The Social Security Administration has registered 529,733 babies named Grace between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Grace currently holds the #40 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2003, when 12,781 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Grace performed strongest in the 2000s, accumulating 110,715 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Grace shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 44,632 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Grace in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Grace in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 529,733 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Grace at a glance

Top 100 girls' name

Total births

529,733

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

2003

12,781 births that year

Strongest decade: 2000s

Current rank

#40

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Grace popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 girls' name
Peak year (2003)
12,781
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 982

Grace popularity over time — boys

1,393 total births recorded since 1880 (Grace as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 1,393 births
01020304050 202420081991195719381923190818931880 6

Grace by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 2000s
Peak decade
2000s
110,715 births that decade — 21% of Grace's all-time total
1880s152271890s238041900s269271910s579731920s600601930s313571940s193691950s159291960s112141970s60991980s117961990s398722000s1107152010s730332020s26358

Grace by state

Where Grace concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Grace
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
44,632 8.4%
#2 California
35,924 6.8%
#3 Pennsylvania
33,818 6.4%
#4 Texas
24,109 4.6%
#5 Illinois
23,964 4.5%
#6 Ohio
21,416 4.0%
#7 Michigan
18,105 3.4%
#8 New Jersey
17,288 3.3%
New York share of Grace's total US births 8.4%
Even split

44,632 of 529,733 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Grace appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Grace?
529,733 babies have been named Grace since 1880. It currently ranks #40 among girls. The peak year was 2003 with 12,781 births.
When was Grace most popular?
Grace was most popular in the 2000s decade with 110,715 total births. The single peak year was 2003.
Where is Grace most popular?
The top states for the name Grace are New York (44,632 births), California (35,924 births), Pennsylvania (33,818 births).
How long has the name Grace been used?
Grace has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Grace?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Gracie, Graciela, Gracelyn, Gracelynn, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Grace

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.