Gradyn
A masculine given name with Welsh or Cornish origins, derived from "grad" meaning "degree" or "step".
Name Census estimates that about 248 living Americans carry the first name Gradyn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gradyn today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gradyn births was 2009 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gradyn. 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
248
~ 1 in 1,382,074 Americans
Peak year
2009
24 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,358
Tracked since 1999
Census
Gradyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 232 people with the first name Gradyn, which placed it at #34,960 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#34,960
National first-name rank
People counted
232
232 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gradyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gradyn is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gradyn described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gradyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 202
- Two or more races6.5% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 7
- Black or African American2.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Popularity
Gradyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gradyn 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 138 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gradyn 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 Gradyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gradyns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gradyn
The given name Gradyn has its roots in the ancient Celtic languages of the British Isles. It is believed to have originated from the Old Welsh word "gradd", which means "rank" or "degree". The name first gained popularity in the early medieval period, particularly among the Welsh nobility and ruling classes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gradyn can be found in the Welsh Triads, a collection of medieval literature compiled in the 13th century. The Triads mention a legendary figure named Gradyn Vrenhin, who is described as a wise and influential ruler from the kingdom of Gwynedd in the 6th century.
In the 9th century, a notable bearer of the name was Gradyn ap Rhodri, a Welsh prince and heir to the Kingdom of Powys. He played a crucial role in the consolidation of power in the region and is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles and genealogical records.
During the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, a Welsh nobleman named Gradyn ap Owain fought alongside the Welsh forces against the Norman invaders. His name is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an important historical document from that era.
In the 12th century, a renowned Welsh poet and bard named Gradyn Fychan gained recognition for his contributions to the Welsh literary tradition. His works, which included poems and songs, were widely celebrated and preserved in medieval Welsh manuscripts.
Another notable figure was Gradyn ap Rhys, a Welsh landowner and nobleman who lived in the late 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the Marcher Lordships, the semi-autonomous territories along the Welsh-English border, and his name appears in various legal and administrative records from that period.
Throughout the centuries, the name Gradyn has continued to be used, albeit with varying degrees of popularity, among Welsh families and communities. While it may not be as common today as it once was, the name remains a part of the rich cultural heritage and history of Wales.
People
Gradyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gradyn 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
Gradyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gradyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 248 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gradyn 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 1,382,074 US residents.
Is Gradyn a common name?
We classify Gradyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 250 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gradyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Gradyn was 2009, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gradyn is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gradyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 232 people with the name Gradyn, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,960 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gradyn in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gradyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gradyn leans strongly male. 224 people counted with this name were male (96.1%), compared with 9 female bearers (3.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gradyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gradyn is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.5%) and Hispanic (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gradyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gradyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (202 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gradyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gradyn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gradyn in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Gradyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gradyn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gradyn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have Gradyn as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Gradyn, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.