Grant
Masculine · Old French roots · “tall”
Grant is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 136,462 boys against 207 girls since 1880.
Grant began as a nickname for a tall man in Anglo-Norman French, became one of the great Highland clan names of Scotland, and crossed to America as a surname before anyone thought to put it first. It is a single closed syllable, said in one beat, and it has never needed a second spelling. Few names of its age still sound this contemporary.
How old is the name Grant?
Grant was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Grant alive today was born around 1998, making them about 27 years old. About 119,000 people named Grant are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Grant most popular?
Grant peaked in 1997, reaching #115 nationally. Today it ranks #228, 113 places below that high. See the whole 1997 chart.
Where it comes from
From grand (Old French) to Grant
The story of Grant
The name starts as a description: medieval clerks in England and Scotland recorded men as le Graunt, from the Anglo-Norman French word for tall or large, and the byname hardened into a hereditary surname. In the Scottish Highlands it became Grant — Grannd in Gaelic — the name of a clan long established in Strathspey, which carried it into the emigration waves that reached North America. The American habit of turning respected surnames into first names did the rest, helped considerably by the Civil War general who became president and left the surname on schools, streets and courthouses across the country. By the twentieth century it was fully settled as a given name in its own right, worn by, among others, the Iowa painter of American Gothic.
Meaning
tall, large
From Anglo-Norman French graunt (Old French grand), used as a byname for a big or tall man — the same root behind the modern French word grand.
Cultural footprint
Grant Wood (b. 1891) — Painted American Gothic
Grant Gustin (b. 1990) — TV's The Flash
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- grandOld French
- le GrauntAnglo-Norman byname
- Grant / GranndScottish surname
- Grantgiven name
Related forms: Grannd · Grand
Pronouncing Grant
GRANT
One syllable, rhyming with plant. No competing pronunciations in English, and no silent letters to explain.
Nicknames for Grant
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 boys named
- 19953,206 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #115reached in 1997
- Change vs 2022
- −7.0%1,555 in 2025, from 1,672
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.
Grant in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Grannd in Scottish Gaelic — same name
- Grand in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Ohio.
Grants among us
people named Grant are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 1,098 born in 2025 was named Grant
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 Allan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Grant's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Allan climbed just as high around 1940, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Allan's path sketches the road Grant is walking now.
Grant peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Grant is headed
Grant 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.
Grant beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Grant in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and one spelling: people get it right the first time they hear it, and there is nothing to correct over the phone.
- A documented surname in England and Scotland since the Middle Ages, and a Highland clan name — a long paper trail behind a short word.
- Reads equally well in a first-name or last-name slot, which suits formal use, nicknamed use and everything in between.
- Familiar to American ears in every region without being crowded, and it has held that position across several changes of fashion.
- It resists shortening. A one-syllable name is what he will be called for life, with no built-in cozy version to fall back on — some families like that, others miss having one.
- Grant is also an ordinary English word: grant money, grant applications, granted. Expect the odd pun, and check how it sits with your surname if that word could land awkwardly.
- Because it still reads as a surname to many people, first-and-last combinations can sound reversible — Grant Cameron, Cameron Grant. Saying the full name aloud a few times settles the question quickly.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Grant
Masculine · Old French roots · #228 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Grants are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 119,000 people named Grant are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Grant in 2025?
- Grant ranks #228 among US boy names in 2025, with 1,555 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Grant?
- About 1 in every 1,098 US boys born in 2025 was named Grant — 1,555 in all.
- Will my child share the name Grant with classmates?
- Grant will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Grant
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Callahan#227 · Brayden#229 · Kairo#226 · Simon#230 · Abel#231 · Cohen#225 · Edward#224 · Alex#232
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Grant? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Grant and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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