Grant
Meaning
"great, tall," from the Anglo-Norman graund, the nickname that became a Highland clan; in America it carries a general-turned-president's surname weight. One syllable, square shoulders, no nickname required
The story
Grant began as a Scottish surname, carried by a Highland clan whose name traces through Norman French to grand, meaning great or large. As a first name it is largely an American development: in the years after the Civil War, parents began reaching for it, often, the story goes, in tribute to Ulysses S. Grant, the general who became president, and it has kept a square-jawed dignity ever since. For most of the twentieth century it held a low, steady profile in the records, never fashionable and never gone. Then, starting around the 1970s, it began a slow climb that has continued decade over decade for half a century, until Grant now sits at its strongest point on record. Few names rise this patiently: no spark, no craze, just a good name quietly getting its due.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Grant peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
The Grant deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Grant 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 Grant fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Does Grant fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Grant to your family’s tree →