Greely
A place name referring to a meadow or grassy glade.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Greely. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Greely today is around 87 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Greely births was 1921 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Greely. 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
- • The typical person named Greely is about 87 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Greelys were born before 1949.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Greely. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1921
9 babies that year
Average age
87
years old
1944 SSA rank
#3,616
Tracked since 1894
Popularity
Greely: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Greely from the 1890s through to the 1940s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 30 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Greely 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 Greely 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 Greely
The given name Greely finds its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the 5th or 6th century AD. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "grene," which means "green" or "verdant," signifying a connection to nature and the natural environment. The name may have initially been used as a descriptive term for someone who lived near a green meadow or forest.
In the early medieval period, the name Greely was primarily found in the Anglo-Saxon regions of what is now England. It started gaining popularity as a personal name during the 9th and 10th centuries, as evidenced by its appearance in some historical records and chronicles from that era.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Greely was Greely of Mercia, a prominent landowner and nobleman who lived in the late 9th century. He is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record of events in Anglo-Saxon England.
Another notable figure was Greely the Scribe, a monk who lived in the 11th century and was renowned for his calligraphic skills and the production of illuminated manuscripts. His work can be found in various monastic libraries and collections across Europe.
In the 12th century, Greely of Huntingdon was a prominent cleric and historian who authored a work titled "Historia Anglorum" (History of the English People), which chronicled the history of England from its earliest times to the reign of King Stephen.
During the 13th century, Sir Greely de Neville was a distinguished knight who participated in the Crusades and is mentioned in several accounts of the military campaigns in the Holy Land.
In the 15th century, Greely Chaucer, a distant relative of the famous poet Geoffrey Chaucer, was a respected scholar and translator who played a significant role in the intellectual renaissance of the time.
Throughout its history, the name Greely has maintained a strong association with nature, greenery, and rural landscapes. It has been embraced by individuals who value simplicity, naturalism, and a connection to the earth.
People
Greely + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Greely 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
Greely: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Greely?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Greely 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Greely a common name?
We classify Greely as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 66 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Greely most popular?
The single biggest year for Greely was 1921, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Greely is about 87 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 Greely in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Greely a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Greely 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 Greely still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Greely 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 Greely 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 common is the name Greely?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.