Griffith
Celtic name meaning "lord of vigor" or "son of the red-haired one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,081 living Americans carry the first name Griffith. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Griffith today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Griffith births was 1918 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Griffith. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Griffith with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 317,072 Americans
Peak year
1918
26 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,106
Tracked since 1899
Census
Griffith in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,066 people with the first name Griffith, which placed it at #11,857 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
#11,857
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,066 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Griffith
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Griffith is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Griffith 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 Griffith at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 916
- Black or African American5.1% · 54
- Two or more races4.4% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 7
Popularity
Griffith: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Griffith from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 202 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Griffith remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Griffith 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 Griffith during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Griffiths live
Origin
Meaning and history of Griffith
The name Griffith has its origins in the Welsh language and culture. It is derived from the Welsh words "griff" meaning "vigor" or "strength" and "iaith" meaning "speech" or "language." The name can be interpreted as "strength of speech" or "vigorous language."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Griffith dates back to the 12th century. It was the name of Griffith ap Cynan, a Welsh prince and king of Gwynedd from 1081 to 1137. He was a prominent figure in the struggle against Norman rule in Wales and played a significant role in the preservation of Welsh culture and independence.
The name gained popularity in medieval England, particularly among the Welsh nobility. It was also adopted by some English families, likely due to its association with strength and power. Griffith ap Rees, a Welsh nobleman who lived in the 13th century, was known for his military exploits and leadership during the conflicts between the Welsh and the English.
In literature, the name Griffith appears in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales. One of the central characters in the story "Peredur son of Efrawg" is named Griffith. This work, dating back to the 12th or 13th century, provides insight into the cultural significance of the name during that time period.
Notable historical figures with the name Griffith include:
1. Griffith Jones (1683-1761), a Welsh cleric and educationalist who established circulating schools in Wales to promote literacy.
2. Griffith Williams (1589-1672), a Welsh writer and Anglican clergyman known for his work on Welsh grammar and literature.
3. Griffith Rhys Jones (1834-1897), a Welsh preacher and political activist who advocated for Welsh rights and education.
4. Griffith John (1831-1912), a Welsh missionary and translator who played a significant role in introducing Christianity to China.
5. Griffith J. Griffith (1850-1919), an industrialist and philanthropist who donated land that became Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California.
The name Griffith has a rich history rooted in Welsh culture and language. It has been associated with strength, vigor, and oratory skills throughout the centuries, and has been borne by notable figures who contributed to various fields, including religion, education, and literature.
People
Griffith + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Griffith 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
Griffith: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Griffith?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,081 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Griffith 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 317,072 US residents.
Is Griffith a common name?
We classify Griffith as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,528 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Griffith most popular?
The single biggest year for Griffith was 1918, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Griffith is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Griffith in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,066 people with the name Griffith, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,857 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 Griffith 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 Griffith?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Griffith leans strongly male. 1,030 people counted with this name were male (96.5%), compared with 37 female bearers (3.5%). 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 Griffith?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Griffith is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Griffith most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Griffith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (916 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 Griffith in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Griffith a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Griffith 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 Griffith still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Griffith 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 Griffith 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 are named Griffith?
See how many Americans are named Griffith on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.