Graham
Graham was given to 2,967 boys in 2025, #120 among boys’ names; 61,671 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 56,500 Americans named Graham and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (92% of everyone recorded); the median is 13 years old and half are between 6 and 27.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Graham by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Graham mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Graham is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “gravel” (*grand) and “homestead” (hām).
The surname derives from Gra(nt)ham, the name of a place in Lincolnshire, from Old English *grand (“gravel”) + hām (“homestead”).
/ɡɹæm/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Graham?
#120 among boys’ names, 2025
Graham rose from #176 in 2015 to #120 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 1.2 to 1.7 per 1,000.
2,980 babies in 2025, the peak
Graham peaked in 2025, when 2,980 babies were given it (2,967 boys, #120 among boys’ names). In 2024 it went to 2,798 boys.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,967 | #120 | 1.7 |
| 2024 | 2,798 | #129 | 1.6 |
| 2023 | 2,537 | #141 | 1.5 |
| 2022 | 2,401 | #155 | 1.4 |
| 2021 | 2,381 | #161 | 1.4 |
| 2020 | 2,095 | #186 | 1.2 |
| 2019 | 2,156 | #180 | 1.2 |
| 2018 | 2,174 | #182 | 1.2 |
| 2017 | 2,111 | #185 | 1.1 |
| 2016 | 2,247 | #179 | 1.2 |
Every recorded year (143)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,378 | #176 | 1.2 |
| 2014 | 2,039 | #199 | 1.1 |
| 2013 | 1,883 | #203 | 1.0 |
| 2012 | 1,715 | #215 | 0.90 |
| 2011 | 1,356 | #256 | 0.71 |
| 2010 | 1,189 | #284 | 0.62 |
| 2009 | 1,328 | #263 | 0.67 |
| 2008 | 1,031 | #322 | 0.51 |
| 2007 | 798 | #382 | 0.38 |
| 2006 | 649 | #430 | 0.32 |
| 2005 | 670 | #408 | 0.34 |
| 2004 | 617 | #423 | 0.31 |
| 2003 | 662 | #396 | 0.34 |
| 2002 | 619 | #408 | 0.32 |
| 2001 | 631 | #398 | 0.32 |
| 2000 | 618 | #405 | 0.31 |
| 1999 | 598 | #405 | 0.31 |
| 1998 | 600 | #405 | 0.31 |
| 1997 | 554 | #418 | 0.29 |
| 1996 | 577 | #405 | 0.30 |
| 1995 | 633 | #375 | 0.33 |
| 1994 | 590 | #393 | 0.31 |
| 1993 | 668 | #352 | 0.34 |
| 1992 | 571 | #403 | 0.29 |
| 1991 | 629 | #369 | 0.31 |
| 1990 | 586 | #395 | 0.29 |
| 1989 | 499 | #417 | 0.25 |
| 1988 | 488 | #407 | 0.25 |
| 1987 | 476 | #398 | 0.25 |
| 1986 | 564 | #339 | 0.31 |
| 1985 | 522 | #353 | 0.28 |
| 1984 | 517 | #353 | 0.29 |
| 1983 | 525 | #345 | 0.29 |
| 1982 | 474 | #369 | 0.26 |
| 1981 | 448 | #382 | 0.25 |
| 1980 | 445 | #385 | 0.25 |
| 1979 | 366 | #416 | 0.21 |
| 1978 | 298 | #466 | 0.18 |
| 1977 | 249 | #532 | 0.15 |
| 1976 | 248 | #508 | 0.16 |
| 1975 | 233 | #527 | 0.15 |
| 1974 | 187 | #582 | 0.12 |
| 1973 | 175 | #594 | 0.11 |
| 1972 | 194 | #572 | 0.12 |
| 1971 | 205 | #570 | 0.12 |
| 1970 | 175 | #613 | 0.09 |
| 1969 | 161 | #615 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 110 | #717 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 106 | #722 | 0.06 |
| 1966 | 103 | #729 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 88 | #791 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 99 | #766 | 0.05 |
| 1963 | 114 | #732 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 108 | #739 | 0.05 |
| 1961 | 111 | #731 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 94 | #791 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 111 | #727 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 107 | #718 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 96 | #769 | 0.04 |
| 1956 | 96 | #750 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 81 | #813 | 0.04 |
| 1954 | 92 | #746 | 0.05 |
| 1953 | 92 | #746 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 93 | #728 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 106 | #677 | 0.06 |
| 1950 | 97 | #696 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 101 | #681 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 93 | #693 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 112 | #653 | 0.06 |
| 1946 | 100 | #644 | 0.06 |
| 1945 | 78 | #686 | 0.06 |
| 1944 | 99 | #619 | 0.07 |
| 1943 | 93 | #666 | 0.07 |
| 1942 | 100 | #637 | 0.07 |
| 1941 | 101 | #591 | 0.08 |
| 1940 | 86 | #649 | 0.07 |
| 1939 | 86 | #640 | 0.08 |
| 1938 | 112 | #547 | 0.10 |
| 1937 | 102 | #571 | 0.10 |
| 1936 | 95 | #595 | 0.09 |
| 1935 | 116 | #538 | 0.11 |
| 1934 | 110 | #564 | 0.11 |
| 1933 | 100 | #580 | 0.10 |
| 1932 | 113 | #557 | 0.11 |
| 1931 | 100 | #585 | 0.10 |
| 1930 | 102 | #607 | 0.09 |
| 1929 | 106 | #582 | 0.10 |
| 1928 | 117 | #569 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 94 | #654 | 0.08 |
| 1926 | 101 | #623 | 0.09 |
| 1925 | 95 | #657 | 0.09 |
| 1924 | 90 | #687 | 0.08 |
| 1923 | 117 | #580 | 0.11 |
| 1922 | 105 | #631 | 0.10 |
| 1921 | 129 | #550 | 0.12 |
| 1920 | 108 | #606 | 0.10 |
| 1919 | 93 | #630 | 0.09 |
| 1918 | 85 | #676 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 92 | #617 | 0.10 |
| 1916 | 109 | #547 | 0.12 |
| 1915 | 98 | #572 | 0.12 |
| 1914 | 68 | #610 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 53 | #606 | 0.10 |
| 1912 | 48 | #586 | 0.11 |
| 1911 | 28 | #580 | 0.12 |
| 1910 | 26 | #559 | 0.13 |
| 1909 | 19 | #627 | 0.12 |
| 1908 | 18 | #619 | 0.12 |
| 1907 | 17 | #623 | 0.12 |
| 1906 | 12 | #726 | 0.09 |
| 1905 | 12 | #721 | 0.09 |
| 1904 | 12 | #704 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 13 | #631 | 0.11 |
| 1902 | 8 | #884 | 0.07 |
| 1900 | 15 | #657 | 0.10 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,108 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 10 | #714 | 0.08 |
| 1897 | 7 | #885 | 0.06 |
| 1895 | 14 | #567 | 0.12 |
| 1894 | 12 | #604 | 0.10 |
| 1893 | 6 | #953 | 0.05 |
| 1892 | 13 | #582 | 0.11 |
| 1891 | 7 | #801 | 0.07 |
| 1890 | 5 | #1,060 | 0.05 |
| 1889 | 7 | #837 | 0.06 |
| 1888 | 8 | #778 | 0.07 |
| 1887 | 9 | #651 | 0.09 |
| 1886 | 7 | #794 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 5 | #996 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 6 | #900 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 7 | #759 | 0.07 |
| 1882 | 7 | #790 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 5 | #924 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Graham a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Graham has been given almost only to boys: 235 girls in 143 years of records.
Girls and boys named Graham: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Graham, and how old are they?
56,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 92% of the 61,671 Americans ever recorded as Graham. The median Graham alive today is 13 years old; half are between 6 and 27.
The 2020 Census counted 44,924 people named Graham (270 women and girls, 44,654 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 42,671 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 335 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,260 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,010 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 8,360 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 13,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 30,100 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Graham born?
The states with the most babies named Graham are Texas, Ohio and California, with 19% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 242 | #156 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 203 | #52 | 1.2× |
| California | 129 | #285 | 0.6× |
| North Carolina | 122 | #100 | 1.9× |
| Michigan | 121 | #75 | 1.1× |
| Indiana | 115 | #58 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 111 | #113 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 110 | #200 | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 105 | #114 | 1.0× |
| Wisconsin | 105 | #43 | 1.3× |
Where Graham is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Graham is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Graham with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 65,605 babies since 1880, Graham is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 2,980 of their 3,017 babies (99%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Graham
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Graham and names like it
- Compare Graham and GraemeBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sGraham peaked in 2025.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Graham since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Graham: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Graham.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Graham alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with GMost given first.