Greer
Masculine · “watchful”
Greer is given to both — 733 boys and 3,085 girls since 1880. See Greer as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Greer is a Scottish surname contracted from Gregor, which is Gregory — a Greek name meaning watchful, from a word about staying awake.
How old is the name Greer?
Greer first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Greer alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 600 people named Greer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Greer most popular?
Greer peaked in 1923, reaching #2224 nationally. Today it ranks #3757, 1,533 places below that high. See the whole 1923 chart.
Where it comes from
From gregoros to Greer
The story of Greer
Gregory was borne by sixteen popes and by several eastern saints, which made it one of the great Christian names. Scotland took it as Gregor, and the MacGregors — outlawed by name for over a century — contracted their surname to Grier and Greer in the lowlands. It reached America with Scottish and Ulster emigration. Its use as a given name is now more often for girls than boys, which is a recent change.
Meaning
watchful, vigilant
From Greek gregoros, watchful, built on a verb meaning to be awake; early Christian usage read it as spiritual watchfulness. Scots contracted MacGregor to Grier and Greer.
How the name formed
- gregoros
- Gregor
- Greer
Related forms: Grier · Gregory · MacGriogair
Pronouncing Greer
GREER
One syllable, rhyming with here. There is no variation.
Nicknames for Greer
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
- 1912
- Most boys named
- 202529 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2224reached in 1923
- Change vs 2024
- +7.4%29 in 2025, from 27
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.
Greer in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Grier in Scots — spelling variant
- Gregory in English — related form
- MacGriogair in Scottish Gaelic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Alabama.
Greers among us
people named Greer are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 58,899 born in 2025 was named Greer
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
Greer 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 Greer is headed
Greer should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Greer beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Greer in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Greek meaning and a documented Scottish clan history.
- One syllable and five letters, easy to write and impossible to mispronounce.
- Gregory stands behind it as a fuller formal option.
- It is now given more often to girls, so assumptions may run that way.
- It reads as a surname to people meeting it in front of another one.
- A one-syllable name gives little room for a nickname.
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What they receive
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Greer
Masculine · #3757 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Greers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Greer are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Greer in 2025?
- Greer ranks #3757 among US boy names in 2025, with 29 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Greer?
- About 1 in every 58,899 US boys born in 2025 was named Greer — 29 in all.
- Will my child share the name Greer with classmates?
- Greer will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Greer
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stanton#3757 · Reymundo#3757 · Zaven#3757 · Kelson#3757 · Javin#3757 · Faizan#3757 · Shakur#3757 · Wilfred#3757
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Greer? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Greer and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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