Graven
Of Scandinavian origin, signifying engraved or carved imagery.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Graven. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Graven today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Graven births was 2017 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Graven. 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 Graven. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2017
6 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2017 SSA rank
#11,235
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Graven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Graven from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Graven 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 Graven 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 Graven
The name Graven is derived from the Old English word "grafan," which means "to dig" or "to carve." This suggests that the name may have originated among Anglo-Saxon communities in Britain during the early medieval period, possibly referring to someone who worked as a digger or carver.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Graven can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book mentions a landowner named Graven in Lincolnshire.
In the 12th century, a monk named Graven is mentioned in the records of the Benedictine monastery at Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England. This suggests that the name was not uncommon among religious figures of the time.
During the Renaissance, a notable figure named Graven was the Italian sculptor and architect Graven di Pietro (1490-1557). He worked in the Mannerist style and is known for his sculptures adorning the Certosa di Pavia, a monastery near Milan.
In the 17th century, a Dutch explorer named Graven van Hoorn (1601-1671) sailed for the Dutch East India Company and is credited with the discovery of several islands in the Pacific Ocean, including Tonga and Niue.
Another historical figure with the name Graven was the British military officer Graven Williams (1712-1781), who served in the Royal Navy and rose to the rank of Admiral. He is known for his role in the Seven Years' War against France and Spain.
While the name Graven may have had its origins as a surname or occupational name in medieval England, it has since been used as a given name in various parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries.
People
Graven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Graven 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
Graven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Graven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Graven 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Graven a common name?
We classify Graven as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Graven most popular?
The single biggest year for Graven was 2017, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Graven is about 13 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 Graven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Graven a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Graven 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 Graven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Graven 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 Graven 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 Graven as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Graven, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.