Grace
Grace was the 38th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 5,127 babies. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked 13th; the most babies were born in 2003 (12,781). Over the last ten years it has moved down 19 places. More babies were named Grace in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning grace (virtue name) · Latin, English
Say it GRAYS /ˈɡreɪs/
- Rank in 2025
- #38 girls, down 10 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 5,127girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 200312,781 babies
- Total since 1880
- 536,340babies recorded
What does the name Grace mean?
Grace is a virtue name from the English word grace, which comes from Latin gratia, meaning favor, goodwill or kindness. Puritans first used it as a given name in the 16th century. DMNES notes that, unlike most English virtue names, it appears in other parts of Europe much earlier. In Catholic use it can also honor Mary as Our Lady of Graces.
gratia (Latin, “favor, goodwill, kindness; grace”)
How sure is this? Well established.
See also: English names, names that mean grace, virtue names.
Nicknames for Grace
The usual nicknames for Grace are Gracie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Grace in the last five years, 25 were named Gracie, against 21 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gracie · also for Gracelynn | Traditional | #227 | 6,359 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Graces go by each one.
Grace popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,405 since 1880, 12 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #38 | 5,127 |
| 2020 | #28 | 5,627 |
| 2010 | #18 | 7,692 |
| 2000 | #19 | 11,285 |
| 1990 | #140 | 2,186 |
| 1980 | #317 | 761 |
| 1970 | #338 | 776 |
| 1960 | #212 | 1,566 |
| 1950 | #183 | 1,511 |
| 1940 | #105 | 2,386 |
| 1930 | #62 | 4,218 |
| 1920 | #37 | 7,172 |
| 1910 | #23 | 3,145 |
| 1900 | #17 | 2,942 |
| 1890 | #13 | 2,278 |
| 1880 | #19 | 982 |
How popular is Grace, counting every spelling?
Grace has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #44 for girls in 2025, against #38 on the official list, because Riley/Rylee/Ryleigh and Madelyn/Madeline/Madeleine and Adeline/Adaline/Adelyn move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Grace?
5,127 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Grace (1.42 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Grace born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 37. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 2 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Grace.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Grace?
About 309,900 people born in the US named Grace are alive today, with a median age of 22; half are between 13 and 29. That makes Grace mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Grace by state
How common Grace was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maine (3.1×), District of Columbia (2.9×), Rhode Island (2.8×), New Hampshire (2.7×), Vermont (2.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Grace: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Grace, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Grace · Sibling names for Grace
Questions about the name Grace
What does Grace mean?
Grace means “grace (virtue name)” (Latin, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Grace?
Grace was the 38th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 5,127 babies. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked 13th; the most babies were born in 2003 (12,781). Over the last ten years it has moved down 19 places. More babies were named Grace in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Grace a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Grace in the US.
Where is Grace most popular?
In 2021–2025, Grace was most common in Maine (9.83 per 1,000 girls), followed by District of Columbia and Rhode Island.