Gresham
Derived from a surname referring to a place name in England, potentially meaning "greensward home".
Name Census estimates that about 142 living Americans carry the first name Gresham. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gresham today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gresham births was 2014 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gresham. 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
142
~ 1 in 2,413,763 Americans
Peak year
2014
12 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,900
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Gresham: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gresham from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 79 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
Gresham 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 Gresham 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 Gresham
The name Gresham has its origins in Old English, derived from the words "greðe" meaning "thicket, brushwood" and "ham" meaning "homestead, village." It was originally a place name referring to a settlement located near a thicket or wooded area. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Greresham" and "Griseham."
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Gresham was Sir Richard Gresham, a prominent English merchant and financier who lived from around 1485 to 1549. He served as Lord Mayor of London and played a crucial role in establishing the Royal Exchange, the first commercial exchange in England.
Another historical figure with the name Gresham was Sir Thomas Gresham, who lived from 1519 to 1579. He was a highly successful merchant, financier, and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. Gresham is credited with establishing the first English bourse, which later became the Royal Exchange in London.
In the 17th century, Sir Thomas Gresham's nephew, also named Sir Thomas Gresham, was a notable English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament and held various legal positions.
Moving into the 19th century, Walter Quinton Gresham, born in 1832 and died in 1895, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 33rd United States Secretary of State under President Grover Cleveland's administration.
Another notable individual with the name Gresham was Walter Gordon Gresham, born in 1833 and died in 1911. He was an American politician and lawyer who served as a Union general during the American Civil War and later as the 33rd United States Postmaster General.
While the name Gresham has its roots in Old English, it has been used across various cultures and regions over the centuries, with individuals bearing this name leaving their mark in various fields, including commerce, law, politics, and military service.
People
Gresham + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gresham 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
Gresham: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gresham?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 142 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gresham 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 2,413,763 US residents.
Is Gresham a common name?
We classify Gresham as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 159 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gresham most popular?
The single biggest year for Gresham was 2014, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gresham is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gresham a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gresham 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.
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.