Given name & surname · also Old English, Scottish
Graham
“from the gravelled area; from the gray home”
Graham is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the gravelled area; from the gray home.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the gravelled area; from the gray home.”
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Scottish and Old English naming traditions.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1881. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Graham through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 61,671
- 61,436 boys · 235 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 2,980 babies
- 2025
- 2,980
- #120 for boys · #8,034 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +21%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,967 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 120 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 21.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 13 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (242). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 44,924 as a first name in 2020; 194,159 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Graham’s family of names
In English usage, Graham has a related form in Graeme. Graham has a related form in Graeme. Graham has a related form in Grahame.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Graemevariant · English
- Granthamvariant · English
- Gramvariant · English
- Graemvariant
- Grahamevariant
- Grahammlikely variant
- Grahemvariant
- Graeghammvariant
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Graham
- Graham ChapmanEnglish actor, comedian and writer (1941–1989)
- Graham ArnoldAustralian association football player and coachborn 1963
- Graham GreeneCanadian actor (1952–2025)
- Graham NortonIrish comedian, actor and television hostborn 1963
- Graham PotterEnglish association football player and managerborn 1975
- Graham SwiftEnglish writer (born 1949)
- Graham SutherlandEnglish artist (1903–1980)
- Graham ZusiAmerican soccer playerborn 1986
- Graham NashBritish singerborn 1942
Characters named Graham: Graham O'Brien (the TV series "Doctor Who").
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Graham, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Rhys
“ardour” · “having great enthusiasm for life”
95% boys · 5% girls
Grant
“large” · “a tall man; a great man”
>99% boys
Logan
“from the hollow” · “from the little hollow”
91% boys · 9% girls
Cameron
“crooked nose”
90% boys · 10% girls
Dillon
“resembling a lion; a faithful man”
89% boys · 11% girls
Fraser
“of the forest men”
>99% boys
Kieran
“having dark features; the little dark one”
97% boys · 3% girls
Walker
“walker of the forests” · “one who trods the cloth”
97% boys · 3% girls