Head to head · Boys' names
Emmett vs Graham
#121 vs #120 in 2025
Graham is a whisker ahead (#120 vs #121 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Graham is climbing the charts fast, Emmett is holding its place on the charts.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Emmett and Graham each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Emmett #152, Graham #784 — Emmett higher
- 1890s: Emmett #139, Graham #777 — Emmett higher
- 1900s: Emmett #167, Graham #674 — Emmett higher
- 1910s: Emmett #201, Graham #597 — Emmett higher
- 1920s: Emmett #239, Graham #612 — Emmett higher
- 1930s: Emmett #289, Graham #577 — Emmett higher
- 1940s: Emmett #338, Graham #651 — Emmett higher
- 1950s: Emmett #423, Graham #736 — Emmett higher
- 1960s: Emmett #546, Graham #732 — Emmett higher
- 1970s: Emmett #724, Graham #538 — Graham higher
- 1980s: Emmett #886, Graham #375 — Graham higher
- 1990s: Emmett #842, Graham #392 — Graham higher
- 2000s: Emmett #606, Graham #383 — Graham higher
- 2010s: Emmett #163, Graham #206 — Emmett higher
- 2020s: Emmett #114, Graham #149 — Emmett higher
Emmett stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Emmett has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Emmett | Graham |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #152 | #784 |
| 1890s | #139 | #777 |
| 1900s | #167 | #674 |
| 1910s | #201 | #597 |
| 1920s | #239 | #612 |
| 1930s | #289 | #577 |
| 1940s | #338 | #651 |
| 1950s | #423 | #736 |
| 1960s | #546 | #732 |
| 1970s | #724 | #538 |
| 1980s | #886 | #375 |
| 1990s | #842 | #392 |
| 2000s | #606 | #383 |
| 2010s | #163 | #206 |
| 2020s | #114 | #149 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Emmett
- Canada#97
Graham
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Emmett
whole, universal — through Emma
Emmett is the English surname formed from Emmet or Emmott, a medieval diminutive of Emma; Emma itself comes from the Germanic element ermin, irmin, meaning whole or universal. The -et ending is the old affectionate suffix, not part of the meaning.
Emma → Emmet → Emmott → Emmett
How it traveled
The line runs from Germanic Emma into medieval England, where Emma was so common that speakers trimmed it into Emmet and Emmott as everyday pet forms. Those pet forms hardened into hereditary surnames, and from the surname pool English and Irish-American families drew a first name — the same route that gave us Everett and Elliott.
Graham
from Grantham: either 'gravelly homestead' or 'Granta's homestead'
Everyone agrees the name comes from Grantham in Lincolnshire, recorded in the Domesday survey. The first element is what is argued over: Old English 'grand', gravel, giving 'gravelly homestead', or an Old English personal name Granta attached to 'ham', homestead or village. The second half, 'ham', is not in doubt.
Grantham → de Graham → Graham → Graeme
How it traveled
The village of Grantham appears in the Domesday Book, and from it came a family name. In the twelfth century a man recorded as William de Graham received lands in Scotland, and the name took root there, becoming one of the Border families and eventually a clan.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Emmett
EM-it
Stress on the first syllable. The second syllable is light, close to -it rather than -ett; British and American speakers land in the same place.
- Em — The standard short form; also serves Emma, Emily and Emerson, so it is shared territory.
- Emmy — Informal and mostly used by family in early childhood; it stands alone far more often as a girl's name.
- E — Initial-only nickname, common among school friends and siblings.
Graham
GRAY-um
Two syllables in American usage. Many British and Scottish speakers compress it to something closer to one — GRAHM — so a child may hear both versions from different relatives.
- Gray — The most common short form, and a standalone given name in its own right in the US.
- Gram — Informal, drawn from the way British speakers compress the full name.
- Grae — Informal spelling of Gray, generally used by younger bearers.
- G — Casual, used among friends and teammates rather than in family settings.
Who has carried each name
Emmett
Emmett Till (b. 1941) — His 1955 murder galvanized the civil rights movement
Graham
Graham Greene (b. 1904) — Novelist of The Quiet American
Graham Norton (b. 1963) — Britain's beloved talk-show host
Graham Chapman (b. 1941) — Monty Python founding member
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Emmett if you want…
- a name holding steadyEmmett is holding its place on the charts
- a name that charts abroad tooEmmett is on the national lists of Canada
- a long American recordEmmett was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Graham if you want…
- a name on the way upup 66 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalGraham entered the US charts in 1881
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Emmett
Strengths
- An unbroken run on American birth records from the earliest years such records were kept — long history, no gap.
- Two syllables, phonetic spelling, no silent letters: most people get it right by ear on the first try.
- Familiar enough to need no explanation, uncommon enough that a child is unlikely to share it in a classroom.
To consider
- Three spellings compete — Emmett, Emmet and Emmitt — so expect to spell it aloud reasonably often, even though the pronunciation never wavers.
- The name is tied in American memory to Emmett Till. Some families choose it partly for that reason; others would rather not carry the association. Either way, it is worth knowing it will occur to people.
- Em- names are thick on the ground right now, so Emmett can blur with Emma, Emmy, Emerson and Emily in a group of children, particularly at the nickname stage.
Graham
Strengths
- One spelling that Americans read correctly on sight, and it survives being said quickly or over the phone.
- Established short forms already in circulation: Gray, Gram, Grae — none of them invented on the spot.
- Still a surname as well as a first name, so it sits easily beside almost any last name.
To consider
- In the US, 'graham' is also a cracker and a flour, named for the nineteenth-century dietary reformer Sylvester Graham. Most people never make the connection out loud, but a school-age classmate might.
- Graeme and Grahame are both real spellings, so expect an occasional 'which one?' — and the two-syllable American reading versus the clipped British one means the name is said two ways in the wild.
- The name is climbing rather than settling, so the boys born alongside your son will meet more Grahams than his father's generation did.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Emmett and Graham in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Emmett and Graham?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Emmett and Graham — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Emmett or Graham — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Emmett or Graham?
- Graham, in 2025: Graham ranked #120 with 2,967 babies; Emmett ranked #121 with 2,950 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Emmett or Graham?
- Graham. Over the last five years Emmett moved down 14 places; Graham moved up 66 places.
- Which is the older name, Emmett or Graham?
- Emmett was already in use when US records began in 1880; Graham entered the US charts in 1881. On the American record, Emmett is the older name.
- How many people are named Emmett and Graham?
- About 59,500 people named Emmett are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 56,500 people named Graham are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Emmetts or Grahams in the classroom?
- Emmett will almost certainly be the only one in school. Graham will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Emmett, Graham and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap