boys' name ★ peaked 2008

Grady

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #373 Trend ↑ Rising 15%

From the Irish surname, from Ó Grádaigh (see O'Grady) or Mag Bhrádaigh (see McGrady).

Rank 2025
#373
among boys · ↓1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
860
named Grady · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,007
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2008
1,203 babies
All-time total
53,215
#493 all-time among boys
First recorded
1887
in Social Security records

Grady popularity over time

53,215 babies have been named Grady since 1887, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 49 49 5 – #298
1890s 18 450 468 47 +855% #229
1900s 40 753 793 79 +69% #206
1910s 114 4,026 4,140 414 +422% #180
1920s 152 5,619 5,771 577 +39% #213
1930s 97 4,738 4,835 484 -16% #235
1940s 65 4,568 4,633 463 -4% #245
1950s 46 4,014 4,060 406 -12% #319
1960s 12 2,929 2,941 294 -28% #423
1970s 10 2,132 2,142 214 -27% #471
1980s 5 1,477 1,482 148 -31% #709
1990s 6 1,784 1,790 179 +21% #727
2000s 56 5,892 5,948 595 +232% #286
2010s 61 9,216 9,277 928 +56% #304
2020s (to 2025) 59 4,827 4,886 814 -12% #372

Where Grady is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 872 0.51 #368
2027 891 0.52 #365
2028 907 0.53 #361
2029 921 0.54 #356
2030 933 0.55 #354

Where Grady is most popular

Boys named Grady per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.470 per 1,000. Strongest in West Virginia, Mississippi, and Montana.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Grady born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
West Virginia 48 1.47 +213%
Mississippi 73 1.28 +173%
Montana 22 1.25 +165%
Alabama 133 1.22 +159%
South Carolina 119 1.15 +145%
Kansas 77 1.12 +139%
Oklahoma 91 1.03 +119%
Ohio 267 1.01 +114%
Kentucky 94 0.937 +99%
Maine 18 0.928 +97%
Arkansas 58 0.917 +95%
New Hampshire 20 0.901 +92%
Minnesota 108 0.880 +87%
North Carolina 223 0.873 +86%
Tennessee 155 0.859 +83%
Nebraska 36 0.828 +76%
South Dakota 15 0.806 +72%
Missouri 111 0.801 +70%
Vermont 5 0.796 +69%
Georgia 201 0.793 +69%
Iowa 53 0.769 +64%
Indiana 113 0.705 +50%
North Dakota 12 0.703 +50%
Wisconsin 80 0.675 +44%
Delaware 10 0.660 +40%
Idaho 26 0.635 +35%
Virginia 112 0.590 +26%
Maryland 66 0.553 +18%
Massachusetts 75 0.545 +16%
Utah 51 0.534 +14%
Michigan 107 0.522 +11%
Washington 84 0.513 +9%
Pennsylvania 135 0.508 +8%
Connecticut 34 0.502 +7%
Florida 231 0.488 ≈ national
Colorado 58 0.449 ≈ national
Louisiana 45 0.440 -6%
Illinois 106 0.415 -12%
Oregon 28 0.369 -22%
Arizona 56 0.342 -27%
Texas 271 0.308 -35%
Rhode Island 5 0.307 -35%
New York 118 0.273 -42%
New Jersey 47 0.233 -50%
California 159 0.174 -63%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Hawaii – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Grady

Grady is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #373 in 2025 with 851 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1887, 53,215 American babies have been named Grady. Its peak came in 2008, when 1,203 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Grady stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Grady?

The median living Grady is about 18 years old; half are between 10 and 56. An estimated 34 thousand people named Grady are alive in the United States today.

median 18 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Grady year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 9 #10,379 851 #373
2024 7 #12,629 884 #372
2023 12 #8,649 806 #395
2022 13 #8,214 791 #405
2021 8 #11,471 727 #426
2020 10 #9,800 768 #399
2019 9 #10,781 748 #414
2018 13 #8,301 766 #414
2017 – – 886 #375
2016 12 #9,077 938 #357
2015 – – 958 #353
2014 7 #13,565 956 #347
2013 – – 917 #349
2012 7 #13,999 943 #334
2011 5 #17,714 1,089 #304
2010 8 #12,705 1,015 #314
2009 15 #8,192 1,140 #289
2008 7 #14,361 1,196 #286
2007 7 #14,436 945 #341
2006 7 #14,091 558 #474
2005 – – 462 #527
2004 6 #14,790 424 #545
2003 – – 364 #592
2002 – – 325 #614
2001 5 #16,204 249 #710
2000 9 #10,177 229 #746
1995 – – 196 #767
1990 – – 173 #775
1985 – – 133 #770
1980 – – 143 #735
1975 – – 208 #561
1970 5 #8,425 292 #471
1965 – – 287 #459
1960 – – 357 #423
1955 8 #4,520 403 #363
1950 6 #4,944 419 #330
1945 5 #4,818 418 #291
1940 6 #4,047 489 #245
1935 10 #2,812 475 #243
1930 9 #3,169 508 #247
1925 15 #2,424 533 #246
1920 7 #4,154 602 #215
1915 11 #2,601 497 #211
1910 6 #2,257 114 #217
1905 7 #1,597 70 #235
1900 – – 79 #224
1895 – – 59 #229
1890 – – 43 #264
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Grady

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Grady Booch Grady Booch American software engineer b. 1955 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Grady, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Grady?

The median living Grady is about 18 years old. Half of all living Gradys are between 10 and 56 years old.

How many people named Grady are alive today?

An estimated 34 thousand people named Grady are alive in the United States, based on 53,215 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Grady mean?

From the Irish surname, from Ó Grádaigh (see O'Grady) or Mag Bhrádaigh (see McGrady).

How popular is the name Grady in 2025?

Grady ranked #373 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 851 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Grady?

53,215 babies have been named Grady in the United States since 1887, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Grady most popular?

Grady peaked in 2008, when 1,203 newborns received the name.

Is Grady a boy or girl name?

Grady is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Grady rising or falling?

Grady has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Grady become more popular?

Grady is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 933 boys named Grady in 2030, which would rank around #354. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Grady?

Well-known people named Grady include Grady Booch (computer scientist).

Names like Grady

Names that sound and feel close to Grady: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Grady with similar names → More names starting with G →