Given name & surname
Griffin
“having a hooked nose”
Griffin is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “having a hooked nose.”
Original LatinGriffinus
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “having a hooked nose.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
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
Griffin through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 51,809
- 51,051 boys · 758 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 1,750 babies
- 2025
- 1,648
- #222 for boys · #5,788 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +1%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,627 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 222 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 1.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 21 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (103). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 40,385 as a first name in 2020; 191,130 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.
Griffin’s family of names
Griffin has a related form in Griffen. Griffin has a related form in Griff. Griffin has a related form in Gryphon.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Griffin has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
Latinwhere Griffin comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Gryffinvariant
- Gryphonvariant
- Griffynvariant
- Griffenvariant
- Griffinnlikely variant
- Gryffenvariant
- Griffonvariant
- Griffvariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Across languages 4
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 Griffin
- Griffin GluckAmerican actorborn 2000
- Griffin BellAmerican judge (1918-2009)
- Griffin YowAmerican soccer playerborn 2002
- Griffin ReinhartCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1994
- Griffin NewmanAmerican actor and comedianborn 1989
- Griffin Easterroad bicycle racerborn 1991
- Griffin CanningAmerican baseball playerborn 1996
- Griffin O'NealAmerican actorborn 1964
- Griffin DorseyAmerican soccer playerborn 1999
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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