Graeham
A variant spelling of Graham, of Scottish origin meaning "gravelly homestead".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Graeham. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Graeham today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Graeham births was 1995 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Graeham. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Graeham. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1995
5 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
1995 SSA rank
#9,345
Tracked since 1995
Popularity
Graeham: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Graeham 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 Graeham during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Graeham
The name Graeham is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "graeg" meaning "grey" and "ham" meaning "homestead" or "settlement". It likely originated as a surname in the Middle Ages, referring to someone who lived in a grey-colored house or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Graeham dates back to the 12th century in the Domesday Book, a medieval census commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. It appears as a surname, referring to various landowners and tenants across England.
In the 13th century, the name Graeham surfaced in Scottish historical records, as the Clan Graham played a prominent role in Scottish affairs during the Wars of Scottish Independence against England. The most notable bearer of the name was Sir John Graham of Dundaff, a close companion of William Wallace, who fought alongside him in the battles of Falkirk and Stirling Bridge in the late 13th century.
In the 16th century, the name Graeham gained prominence in England, particularly with the birth of James Graeham, a renowned mathematician and astronomer born in 1592. He made significant contributions to the development of logarithms and the calculation of planetary orbits.
Another notable figure with the name Graeham was John Graeham, a Scottish minister and writer born in 1694. He authored several religious works, including "The Duty of Alms-Giving Stated and Enforced" and "The Scripture Doctrine of Divine Grace Opened and Vindicated".
In the 18th century, James Graeham, a Scottish-born merchant and landowner, played a key role in the early settlement of Georgia in the American colonies. He established the town of Grahamsborough, which later became part of the city of Savannah.
While the name Graeham has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been borne by several notable individuals across various fields, including science, religion, and literature. The name's origins in Old English and its historical connections to Scotland and England make it a unique and distinctive choice.
People
Graeham + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Graeham 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
Graeham: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Graeham?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Graeham 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Graeham a common name?
We classify Graeham as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Graeham most popular?
The single biggest year for Graeham was 1995, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Graeham is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Graeham in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Graeham a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Graeham 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 Graeham still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Graeham 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 Graeham 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Graeham as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Graeham, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.