Gregory
Gregory was given to 493 boys in 2025, #593 among boys’ names; 714,753 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 570,000 Americans named Gregory and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (80% of everyone recorded); the median is 57 years old and half are between 43 and 66.
Gregory is the #43 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Gregory by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Gregory mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Gregory is “a male given name from Ancient Greek.” Its etymology gives the senses “watchful, vigilant” (Γρηγόριος) and “awaken, arouse” (ἐγείρω).
Via Latin Grēgorius, from post-classical Ancient Greek Γρηγόριος (Grēgórios, “watchful, vigilant”), from Ancient Greek ἐγείρω (egeírō, “awaken, arouse”).
/ˈɡɹɛɡ(ə)ɹi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Gregory?
#593 among boys’ names, 2025
Gregory fell from #346 in 2015 to #593 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.51 to 0.29 per 1,000.
22,063 babies in 1962, the peak
Gregory peaked in 1962, when 22,063 babies were given it (21,976 boys, #21 among boys’ names). The 493 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 493 | #593 | 0.29 |
| 2024 | 554 | #539 | 0.32 |
| 2023 | 557 | #530 | 0.33 |
| 2022 | 616 | #495 | 0.35 |
| 2021 | 608 | #486 | 0.35 |
| 2020 | 686 | #435 | 0.40 |
| 2019 | 806 | #388 | 0.45 |
| 2018 | 787 | #408 | 0.43 |
| 2017 | 890 | #374 | 0.48 |
| 2016 | 926 | #360 | 0.49 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 987 | #346 | 0.51 |
| 2014 | 1,110 | #315 | 0.58 |
| 2013 | 1,182 | #296 | 0.62 |
| 2012 | 1,231 | #286 | 0.65 |
| 2011 | 1,265 | #279 | 0.67 |
| 2010 | 1,287 | #268 | 0.67 |
| 2009 | 1,426 | #247 | 0.72 |
| 2008 | 1,559 | #236 | 0.76 |
| 2007 | 1,679 | #223 | 0.81 |
| 2006 | 1,833 | #208 | 0.89 |
| 2005 | 1,903 | #202 | 1.0 |
| 2004 | 1,968 | #194 | 1.0 |
| 2003 | 2,110 | #185 | 1.1 |
| 2002 | 2,279 | #169 | 1.2 |
| 2001 | 2,478 | #157 | 1.3 |
| 2000 | 2,839 | #138 | 1.4 |
| 1999 | 3,048 | #122 | 1.6 |
| 1998 | 3,429 | #109 | 1.8 |
| 1997 | 3,802 | #103 | 2.0 |
| 1996 | 3,994 | #98 | 2.1 |
| 1995 | 4,442 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1994 | 5,137 | #76 | 2.7 |
| 1993 | 5,807 | #65 | 3.0 |
| 1992 | 6,498 | #60 | 3.3 |
| 1991 | 7,555 | #55 | 3.7 |
| 1990 | 8,378 | #51 | 4.1 |
| 1989 | 8,760 | #52 | 4.4 |
| 1988 | 8,629 | #50 | 4.5 |
| 1987 | 9,135 | #47 | 4.9 |
| 1986 | 9,529 | #46 | 5.2 |
| 1985 | 9,767 | #45 | 5.3 |
| 1984 | 9,688 | #44 | 5.4 |
| 1983 | 9,980 | #42 | 5.6 |
| 1982 | 10,144 | #40 | 5.6 |
| 1981 | 8,756 | #46 | 4.9 |
| 1980 | 9,267 | #42 | 5.2 |
| 1979 | 9,109 | #42 | 5.3 |
| 1978 | 9,340 | #38 | 5.7 |
| 1977 | 10,052 | #35 | 6.1 |
| 1976 | 10,060 | #35 | 6.4 |
| 1975 | 10,400 | #33 | 6.7 |
| 1974 | 10,826 | #31 | 6.9 |
| 1973 | 11,674 | #26 | 7.5 |
| 1972 | 13,056 | #26 | 8.1 |
| 1971 | 14,760 | #26 | 8.3 |
| 1970 | 16,286 | #26 | 8.8 |
| 1969 | 16,166 | #26 | 9.0 |
| 1968 | 15,392 | #26 | 8.9 |
| 1967 | 15,775 | #25 | 9.0 |
| 1966 | 17,009 | #23 | 9.5 |
| 1965 | 18,205 | #23 | 9.8 |
| 1964 | 19,884 | #22 | 10.0 |
| 1963 | 21,420 | #21 | 10.5 |
| 1962 | 21,976 | #21 | 10.6 |
| 1961 | 21,364 | #23 | 10.1 |
| 1960 | 20,304 | #24 | 9.5 |
| 1959 | 19,889 | #23 | 9.3 |
| 1958 | 19,810 | #23 | 9.3 |
| 1957 | 21,472 | #23 | 10.0 |
| 1956 | 21,082 | #24 | 10.0 |
| 1955 | 19,815 | #24 | 9.6 |
| 1954 | 17,625 | #25 | 8.6 |
| 1953 | 16,160 | #24 | 8.2 |
| 1952 | 15,191 | #24 | 7.8 |
| 1951 | 14,102 | #25 | 7.5 |
| 1950 | 13,311 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1949 | 10,979 | #31 | 6.2 |
| 1948 | 9,724 | #32 | 5.5 |
| 1947 | 9,327 | #33 | 5.1 |
| 1946 | 5,672 | #56 | 3.5 |
| 1945 | 2,474 | #96 | 1.8 |
| 1944 | 1,305 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1943 | 1,134 | #163 | 0.79 |
| 1942 | 1,027 | #165 | 0.74 |
| 1941 | 824 | #183 | 0.67 |
| 1940 | 756 | #189 | 0.65 |
| 1939 | 596 | #205 | 0.54 |
| 1938 | 536 | #225 | 0.48 |
| 1937 | 507 | #234 | 0.48 |
| 1936 | 393 | #273 | 0.38 |
| 1935 | 368 | #282 | 0.35 |
| 1934 | 329 | #299 | 0.32 |
| 1933 | 254 | #333 | 0.26 |
| 1932 | 283 | #327 | 0.27 |
| 1931 | 255 | #342 | 0.25 |
| 1930 | 248 | #363 | 0.23 |
| 1929 | 237 | #375 | 0.22 |
| 1928 | 260 | #357 | 0.23 |
| 1927 | 241 | #381 | 0.21 |
| 1926 | 243 | #375 | 0.22 |
| 1925 | 212 | #409 | 0.19 |
| 1924 | 226 | #408 | 0.20 |
| 1923 | 191 | #440 | 0.17 |
| 1922 | 220 | #407 | 0.20 |
| 1921 | 184 | #453 | 0.17 |
| 1920 | 179 | #454 | 0.17 |
| 1919 | 163 | #466 | 0.17 |
| 1918 | 175 | #448 | 0.17 |
| 1917 | 158 | #451 | 0.17 |
| 1916 | 144 | #477 | 0.16 |
| 1915 | 135 | #477 | 0.16 |
| 1914 | 107 | #468 | 0.16 |
| 1913 | 85 | #465 | 0.17 |
| 1912 | 65 | #492 | 0.15 |
| 1911 | 36 | #491 | 0.16 |
| 1910 | 25 | #573 | 0.13 |
| 1909 | 26 | #511 | 0.16 |
| 1908 | 26 | #493 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 21 | #523 | 0.14 |
| 1906 | 16 | #601 | 0.12 |
| 1905 | 13 | #682 | 0.10 |
| 1904 | 16 | #575 | 0.12 |
| 1903 | 10 | #751 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 10 | #767 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 16 | #496 | 0.15 |
| 1900 | 12 | #758 | 0.08 |
| 1899 | 11 | #635 | 0.10 |
| 1898 | 14 | #587 | 0.11 |
| 1897 | 8 | #817 | 0.07 |
| 1896 | 10 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 9 | #760 | 0.08 |
| 1894 | 10 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 9 | #726 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 9 | #765 | 0.07 |
| 1890 | 12 | #579 | 0.11 |
| 1889 | 6 | #922 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 5 | #1,096 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 7 | #795 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 5 | #998 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,039 | 0.04 |
| 1881 | 6 | #815 | 0.06 |
| 1880 | 5 | #967 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Gregory a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Gregory has been given almost only to boys: 2,860 girls in 142 years of records.
Girls and boys named Gregory: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Gregory, and how old are they?
570,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 80% of the 714,753 Americans ever recorded as Gregory. The median Gregory alive today is 57 years old; half are between 43 and 66.
The 2020 Census counted 503,949 people named Gregory (530 women and girls, 503,419 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 604,579 born in the U.S. The Census count is 17% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 3,460 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 220,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 182,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 120,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 33,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 10,100 |
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 Gregory born?
The states with the most babies named Gregory are California, New York and Ohio, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 67,666 | #619 | 0.9× |
| New York | 56,600 | #626 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 45,570 | #634 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 42,191 | #552 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 41,432 | #380 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 35,941 | #398 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 30,791 | #686 | 0.6× |
| New Jersey | 22,653 | #435 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 22,119 | #655 | 1.0× |
| Indiana | 21,699 | #463 | 1.1× |
Where Gregory is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Gregory is most over-represented in District of Columbia: since 1910 it was given 1.3 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 Gregory 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 732,717 babies since 1880, Gregory is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 493 of their 552 babies (89%), 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 Gregory
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 Gregory and names like it
- Compare Gregory and GregorioBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sGregory peaked in 1962.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Gregory since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Gregory: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1962The year the most babies were named Gregory.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Gregory alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.