Griffin
Feminine
Griffin is given to boys far more often — 51,051 boys against 758 girls since 1880. See Griffin as a boy name
Griffin arrives from two Celtic surnames and a mythological animal, and all three are genuinely in play. It has been used on American girls since the 1990s, always well behind its use on boys, and it belongs to the small group of surname names — with Sawyer, Rowan and Emerson — that crossed over on the strength of sound rather than of any family connection.
How old is the name Griffin?
Griffin first appears in US birth records in 1979 — 46 years ago. The typical Griffin alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 800 people named Griffin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Griffin most popular?
Griffin peaked in 1997, reaching #3161 nationally. Today it ranks #5722, 2,561 places below that high. See the whole 1997 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Gruffudd to Griffin
The story of Griffin
Gruffudd was borne by Welsh princes for centuries, including Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, the only man to rule all of Wales. The name was latinized as Griffinus in medieval documents, and from that came the surname Griffin alongside Griffith. Independently, the Irish sept of O Griobhtha in County Clare produced Griffin as an anglicized surname. Both families emigrated in large numbers, and the surname is common in the United States. Its use as a given name follows the general post-1980 American movement of surnames onto first-name lists; the girls' use begins in the 1990s and remains a small fraction of the total.
Meaningscholars disagree
possibly 'lord' or 'strong' from Welsh Gruffudd; possibly 'griffin-like, fierce' from Irish
Two separate Celtic sources produce the same English surname. The Welsh route runs through Gruffudd, an old personal name whose second element is iudd, 'lord', with a disputed first element; Gruffudd gives the surname Griffith and, latinized, Griffinus. The Irish route runs through O Griobhtha, from griobh, a word for a fierce or griffin-like creature. English speakers then heard both as the name of the eagle-lion of medieval heraldry, which is itself from Greek gryps. All three layers are real.
How the name formed
- Gruffudd
- Griffinus
- Griffin
Related forms: Gruffudd · Griffith · O Griobhtha
Pronouncing Griffin
GRIF-in
Two syllables, stress on the first, exactly as the mythological beast. There is no competing saying and nobody has to be taught it.
Nicknames for Griffin
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
- 1979
- Most girls named
- 199737 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3161reached in 1997
- Change vs 2024
- +10.5%21 in 2025, from 19
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.
Griffin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gruffudd in Welsh — related form
- Griffith in Welsh — related form
- O Griobhtha in Irish — related form
Griffins among us
people named Griffin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 76,537 born in 2025 was named Griffin
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 Marlise test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Griffin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Marlise climbed just as high around 1962, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Marlise's path sketches the road Griffin is walking now.
Griffin 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
Griffin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Griffin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Everyone can spell and say it after one hearing, because the word already exists.
- Griff and Fin are ready short forms with quite different characters.
- It has genuine Welsh and Irish history rather than being a modern surname invention.
- It remains far more common on boys, and will be read that way on paper.
- The heraldic animal is the first association for most people, ahead of any etymology.
- The two Celtic derivations mean there is no single meaning to offer.
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What they receive
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Griffin
Feminine · #5722 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Griffins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Griffin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Griffin in 2025?
- Griffin ranks #5722 among US girl names in 2025, with 21 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Griffin?
- About 1 in every 76,537 US girls born in 2025 was named Griffin — 21 in all.
- Will my child share the name Griffin with classmates?
- Griffin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Griffin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rosina#5722 · Delores#5722 · Vaughn#5722 · Roseline#5722 · Loyal#5722 · Missy#5722 · Danitza#5722 · Margret#5722
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Griffin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Griffin and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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