Grover
Masculine · “one who lives by a grove”
Grover is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 27,113 boys against 92 girls since 1880.
Grover is an English surname that means what it sounds like: someone who lived by a grove of trees. It became a first name in America the way many surnames did, by belonging to a president.
How old is the name Grover?
Grover was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Grover alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 6,700 people named Grover are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Grover most popular?
Grover peaked in 1884, reaching #20 nationally. Today it ranks #4249, 4,229 places below that high. See the whole 1884 chart.
Where it comes from
From graf to Grover
The story of Grover
The name came to Americans through Grover Cleveland, who used his middle name in public life and was elected to two non-consecutive terms in the late nineteenth century. American parents have a long habit of naming sons after presidents, and the birth records show the pattern clearly around this name and around several others of the period. Before that it was a surname and nothing else; after it, it was a first name that a boy could carry without explanation.
Meaning
one who lives by a grove
A topographic surname from Old English graf, 'grove'. Surnames of this kind described where a family lived rather than what they did, and they are among the most common sources of English surnames.
How the name formed
- graf
- Grover
Pronouncing Grover
GROH-vur
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a long o. There is no variation worth worrying about.
Nicknames for Grover
Limited
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
- 1921690 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #20reached in 1884
- Change vs 2022
- −4.0%24 in 2025, from 25
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.
Grovers among us
people named Grover are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 71,170 born in 2025 was named Grover
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
Grover 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
Grover beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Grover in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Transparent meaning: anyone who hears it can work out that it is about trees, without being told.
- It belongs to the American surname-as-first-name tradition, which is still the most productive source of new boys' names in the country.
- One spelling, one pronunciation, and no confusion about either.
- For anyone who grew up with Sesame Street, the blue monster is the first association and will stay that way.
- It is tied to one president in a way that few surname names are, so the name carries a political figure with it whether or not that is intended.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Grover 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 Grover? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Grover
Masculine · #4249 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Grovers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,700 people named Grover are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Grover in 2025?
- Grover ranks #4249 among US boy names in 2025, with 24 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Grover?
- About 1 in every 71,170 US boys born in 2025 was named Grover — 24 in all.
- Will my child share the name Grover with classmates?
- Grover will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Grover
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Guadalupe#4249 · Denny#4249 · Hughes#4249 · Erling#4249 · Rodrick#4249 · Elric#4249 · Ron#4249 · Wright#4249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Grover? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Grover 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.
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. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle