Gracious
Courteous, kind, and compassionate in character and conduct.
Name Census estimates that about 197 living Americans carry the first name Gracious. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Gracious today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gracious births was 2019 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gracious. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
197
~ 1 in 1,739,870 Americans
Peak year
2019
14 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,577
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Gracious: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gracious from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 87 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Gracious remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gracious by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gracious during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gracious
The name Gracious is derived from the Latin word "gratia," which means "grace" or "favor." The name has its roots in Roman culture and was used as a virtue name to describe someone who exhibited qualities of kindness, compassion, and elegance.
Gracious was a popular name among early Christian communities, as it embodied the grace and mercy of God. In the Bible, the name appears in the New Testament, particularly in the epistles of Paul, where it is used to describe the unmerited favor and kindness of God towards humanity.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Gracious can be found in the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo, a renowned philosopher and theologian from the 4th-5th century AD. He used the name to describe the concept of divine grace, which he believed was essential for salvation.
During the Middle Ages, the name Gracious was popular among the nobility and upper classes, as it was seen as a desirable quality for a person of high social standing. In literature, the name appears in works such as the medieval romance "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," where it is used to describe the courteous and gracious behavior of the knights.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Gracious. One example is Gracious, a 7th-century bishop of Paris, who is remembered for his charitable works and dedication to the poor. Another is Gracious Mendes, a 16th-century composer from Portugal, known for his contributions to the development of Renaissance music.
In the 18th century, Gracious Baugier, a French philosopher and writer, gained recognition for his works on ethics and morality. Gracious Burtin, a 19th-century French engraver and art historian, is also noteworthy for his contributions to the study of art and antiquities.
Lastly, Gracious Bakanja, a 20th-century Congolese politician and activist, played a significant role in the struggle for independence and democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
People
Gracious + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gracious as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gracious: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gracious?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 197 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gracious going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,739,870 US residents.
Is Gracious a common name?
We classify Gracious as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 199 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gracious most popular?
The single biggest year for Gracious was 2019, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gracious is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gracious a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gracious in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.