Grace
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Meaning
“English virtue name from the word grace, ultimately from Latin gratia”
Famously borne by Grace O'Malley, the Irish sea captain who sailed to London in 1593 and won her case from Elizabeth I.
The story
A moth taped into a computer logbook became one of technology's most durable anecdotes. The Smithsonian explains that engineers on Grace Hopper's Mark computer team found and logged the insect. The words bug and debugging already existed, and the book was probably not Hopper's, so she should not be credited with finding the moth or coining the terms. She did help program the Mark machines and worked on compiler development, work more consequential than the moth anecdote. Her given name has its own precise route. Grace comes from the English word grace, ultimately from Latin gratia, and belongs to the virtue-name tradition used by Puritans. It did not pass directly from Latin into personal use. The moth episode and the etymology need no mystical connection. Together they make a story about careful wording: a virtue word with a long history beside a scientist whose legacy is best served by getting the details right.
How popular is Grace around the world?
In the United States, 31,586 babies were named Grace between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 265 girls named Grace were born in 2025, the 4th most common name among girls that year.
Grace is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, South Australia, Scotland, England and Wales, New Zealand, Canada, New South Wales, Puerto Rico, Chile, Mexico City, Norway, France, Austria, Brazil, Argentina, Poland and Spain.
Grace crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 690
In the United States, 31,586 babies were named Grace between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Grace peaked in the 2000s. Grace reached 60,283 US births in the 1920s, its high point before 1930, fell to 6,096 in the 1970s, and was back at 73,167 in the 2010s. Grace went to 7,690 US babies in 2015 and 5,139 in 2025, 67% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 200
In Ireland, 265 girls named Grace were born in 2025, the 4th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
South Australia
1 in 2302017
In South Australia, 80 girls were registered as Grace in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 250
In Scotland, 183 girls named Grace were registered in 2024, the 13th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
England and Wales
1 in 450
In England and Wales, 1,309 girls named Grace were born in 2025, the 27th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 570
In New Zealand, 102 girls named Grace were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 790
In Canada, 461 girls named Grace were born in 2024, the 42nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New South Wales
#11 · 2025
In New South Wales, 248 girls named Grace were registered in 2025, ranked 11th in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Puerto Rico
1 in 2,600
In Puerto Rico, 7 babies were named Grace in 2025, and 703 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Chile
1 in 4,600
In Chile, 39 girls were registered as Grace in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Mexico City City
1 in 5,100
In Mexico City, there were 23 registrations of Grace in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Norway
1 in 6,700register 2026
In Norway, 4 girls were given the name Grace in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
France
1 in 9,200
In France, about 70 girls named Grace were born in 2025, the 623rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Grace, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 19,000
In Austria, 4 girls named Grace were born in 2025, the 858th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Brazil
1 in 32,000
At the 2022 census, 6,265 people in Brazil were named Grace, ranked 2,341st, with a median age of 36.
Among people named Grace living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 28 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Argentina
1 in 35,000
In Argentina, 19 newborns were given the name Grace in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Poland
1 in 41,000
In Poland, 6 girls named Grace were born in 2025, the 427th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Spain
1 in 66,000
In Spain, 678 residents are named Grace, ranked 1,887th among women, with a mean age of 29.5 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Montevideo City
last on record 2009
Grace is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
When you meet Grace
Most people given the name Grace in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Grace travels
Irish · grace, God's favor; a top-ranked name in Ireland and long loved internationally
Korean American · grace, favor (the single most common English name Korean American parents pair with a Korean home name, as in Grace Eunji Kim)
Filipino American · grace, favor (a beloved Filipino American virtue name)
Chinese American · grace, God's favor; a defining Chinese American virtue name, frequently paired with characters like 恩 or 雅 meaning grace or refinement
Dual-language · grace, favor; the single most common English half of the Korean American dual-name pattern, since it directly translates 은 (eun, "grace, mercy") found in names like Eunji and Eunbi; meaning, not just sound
Filipino · grace, favor (beloved Filipino virtue name)
Keep exploring
Names like Grace · Names that go with Grace · Middle names for Grace · Irish baby names · Dual-language baby names · Korean American baby names · Filipino baby names · Filipino American baby names · Chinese American baby names · Nickname-proof names · The hundred-year rule · Climbers and fallers
The Grace deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Grace truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Grace fits with your family’s names and surname.
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