BabyNameScoreName profile
Graham
masculine
This reflects the first name on its own. The full-name report scores the complete combination separately.
Check it with a full name ↓Surname of Scottish and English origin, an Anglo-French/Anglo-Norman rendering of the English place name Grantham (Lincolnshire), recorded variously as Grantham, Grandham, Granham and Graham in the 11th-century Domesday Book. The surname was carried to Scotland in the 12th century by Sir William de Graham, founder of Clan Graham, and later taken to Ulster by Scottish and English settlers in the 17th century.
Why it works
- a well-established name with a clear, learnable pronunciation
- spelling is short and predictable — rarely needs repeating
What to know
pronounced "GRAY-um" — may invite a pronunciation check on first meeting
Popularity
Familiar — #120 in the latest U.S. ranking.
Meaning and origin
Graham means "Gravelly homestead" (or, per an alternate parsing of the same Old English elements, "gravel/grand homestead") — from Old English 'grand' (possibly "gravel") + 'ham' ("homestead, hamlet"), the place-name elements underlying Grantham/Graham.
Graham remains strongly associated with Scotland, where it is tied to Clan Graham, and continues to place in the top 10 boys' names there per Scottish naming data. In the US it functions as a preppy, surname-style choice within the broader trend of surname names for boys (alongside names like Harrison, Emmett, and Everett).
Documented origin: Surname of Scottish and English origin, an Anglo-French/Anglo-Norman rendering of the English place name Grantham (Lincolnshire), recorded variously as Grantham, Grandham, Granham and Graham in the 11th-century Domesday Book. The surname was carried to Scotland in the 12th century by Sir William de Graham, founder of Clan Graham, and later taken to Ulster by Scottish and English settlers in the 17th century.
How it travels
English and Turkish are shown by default; German is included when it adds a meaningfully different reading.
Spelling stability: moderate — based on letter-pattern analysis, not a documented linguistic fact.
Also documented
en-GB: GRAY-um
en-US: GRAM
Popularity without panic
Familiar — #120 in the latest U.S. ranking.
Familiar enough to feel established, distinctive enough to stand out.
Full-name check
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No account required. Your report gets a private, unlisted link — it's never added to Graham's public name page, and surnames are never shown publicly.
Real-world considerations
- Familiar — #120 in the latest U.S. ranking.
- Spelling note: Graeme.
- Sources agree the name derives from the place name Grantham and the general 'gravel(ly) homestead' gloss, but the exact sense of the first Old English element ('grand') is not settled with full certainty; it is consistently glossed as relating to gravel or a similar gritty ground quality rather than any other specific meaning.
Explore alternatives
Documented as a related name or variant form.
Documented as a related name or variant form.
Documented as a related name or variant form.