Graeme
Masculine · “gravelly homestead”
Graeme is the Scottish spelling of Graham, and the surname came north with a Norman family — the place it names is in Lincolnshire, not Scotland.
How old is the name Graeme?
Graeme first appears in US birth records in 1933 — 92 years ago. The typical Graeme alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 2,800 people named Graeme are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Graeme most popular?
Graeme peaked in 2012, reaching #989 nationally. Today it ranks #3949, 2,960 places below that high. See the whole 2012 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Grantham to Graeme
The story of Graeme
William de Graham received lands in Scotland from David I in the twelfth century and the family became one of the great Scottish houses — the Marquess of Montrose is a Graham. The spelling Graeme is the Scottish one and has been used as a given name since the nineteenth century, particularly in Scotland, Australia and New Zealand, where it was very heavily used mid-century.
Meaning
gravelly homestead
From Grantham in Lincolnshire, recorded in Domesday as Grantham and Graham, joining a first element read as gravel or a personal name to Old English ham, a homestead.
How the name formed
- Grantham
- Graham
- Graeme
Related forms: Graham · Grahame
Pronouncing Graeme
GRAY-um
Two syllables, first stressed. Some say it as one, GRAME.
Nicknames for Graeme
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
- 1933
- Most boys named
- 2013196 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #989reached in 2012
- Change vs 2023
- +17.4%27 in 2025, from 23
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.
Graeme in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Graham in English — spelling variant
- Grahame in Scots — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania.
Graemes among us
people named Graeme are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 63,262 born in 2025 was named Graeme
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Deryl test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Graeme's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Deryl climbed just as high around 1950, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Deryl's path sketches the road Graeme is walking now.
Graeme sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Graeme is headed
Graeme is easing off slowly — about 30% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium 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.
Graeme beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Graeme in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled place-name meaning with a documented Norman-Scottish history.
- Gray is a complete short form in current use.
- It carries Scottish identity clearly, which is the point for the families who use it.
- Graham is the more common spelling and will be written for him.
- The ae is unfamiliar to Americans and invites correction.
- The syllable count is unsettled between one and two.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Graeme
Masculine · #3949 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Graemes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,800 people named Graeme are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Graeme in 2025?
- Graeme ranks #3949 among US boy names in 2025, with 27 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Graeme?
- About 1 in every 63,262 US boys born in 2025 was named Graeme — 27 in all.
- Will my child share the name Graeme with classmates?
- Graeme will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Graeme
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stewart#3949 · Tillman#3949 · Ashley#3949 · Alfonzo#3949 · Blane#3949 · Brayton#3949 · Omega#3949 · Rufus#3949
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Graeme? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Graeme and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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