Grace
Feminine · “Grace”
Grace is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 534,935 girls against 1,405 boys since 1880. See Grace as a boy name
Grace comes straight from the Latin word gratia, and it has been an English given name since the Puritans of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries began naming daughters after virtues rather than saints. One syllable, five letters, no version anyone has to ask about twice — and it has stayed in continuous use through every shift of taste since, on both sides of the Atlantic.
How old is the name Grace?
Grace was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Grace alive today was born around 1975, making them about 50 years old. About 316,000 people named Grace are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Grace most popular?
Grace peaked in 1883, reaching #13 nationally. Today it ranks #38, 25 places below that high. See the whole 1883 chart.
Where it comes from
From Gratia to Grace
The story of Grace
The root is Latin gratia, which passed into the Romance languages as Grazia, Gracia and Graça, often attached to titles of the Virgin Mary. English took it up not through those routes but through the Reformation habit of naming children after Christian virtues — Faith, Prudence, Mercy, Grace — and it traveled to North America with those families. In Ireland a separate name met the same spelling: the Gaelic Gráinne was widely anglicized as Grace, which is why the sixteenth-century chieftain Gráinne Ní Mháille is remembered in English as Grace O'Malley. It has held a place in English-speaking countries ever since, still charting today well beyond the United States.
Meaning
Grace, favor, thanks
From Latin gratia, which carried all three senses: charm, kindness freely given, and gratitude. In Christian use it came to mean divine favor specifically, which is the sense the Puritan namers had in mind.
Cultural footprint
Grace Kelly (b. 1929) — Oscar-winning actress who became Princess of Monaco
Grace Hopper (b. 1906) — Computing pioneer and Navy rear admiral behind COBOL
Grace Jones (b. 1948) — Fearless singer and style icon of the '80s
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Gratia
- Grace
Related forms: Grazia · Gracia · Graça · Grâce · Gratia · Gracja
Pronouncing Grace
GRAYSS
One syllable, rhyming with face. The same in British and American English, and rarely misheard or misspelled.
Nicknames for Grace
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 200412,536 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #13reached in 1883
- Change vs 2022
- −3.2%5,127 in 2025, from 5,296
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Grace in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Grazia in Italian — same name
- Gracia in Spanish — same name
- Graça in Portuguese — same name
- Grâce in French — same name
- Gratia in Latin — same name
- Gracja in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. International figures from National Records of Scotland, Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada. Sources
Graces among us
people named Grace are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 313 born in 2025 was named Grace
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Grace has held the top-100 across 10 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Grace is headed
Grace should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Grace beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Grace in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One settled spelling that English speakers read correctly on sight, and one syllable to say — no correcting, no repeating.
- An unbroken record in English use since the Puritan era, so it has never had to be revived.
- Ready-made informal form in Gracie, which also works as a standalone name if she prefers it.
- Recognizable across Romance languages as Grazia, Gracia and Graça, and currently charting in Britain, Scotland and Canada.
- Pairs easily as a middle name, which is where a great many families have used it.
- It is an ordinary English word as well as a name — grace period, saying grace, graceful. Most bearers never notice; a few get tired of the wordplay.
- Its origin is specifically Christian, and the virtue-name tradition it belongs to is still audible to many people. Worth deciding whether that reading suits your family.
- Because it is so heavily used in the middle slot, some first-name-and-Grace combinations can sound like a default rather than a decision.
- Gracie tends to take over in childhood, so expect the full form to be the school-register version for a while.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Grace to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Grace? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Grace
Feminine · #38 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Graces are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 316,000 people named Grace are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Grace in 2025?
- Grace ranks #38 among US girl names in 2025, with 5,127 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Grace?
- About 1 in every 313 US girls born in 2025 was named Grace — 5,127 in all.
- Will my child share the name Grace with classmates?
- Grace will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Grace
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ivy#39 · Avery#37 · Madison#40 · Layla#36 · Valentina#35 · Abigail#41 · Emily#34 · Elena#42
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Grace? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Grace and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle