Gregory
The story
Gregory is Greek gregorein, watchful, the name of sixteen popes, one of whom fixed the calendar the world still keeps and another of whom gave his name to the chant. In America it became something else entirely: a midcentury giant. About 43,200 boys in the 1940s, then 178,500 in the 1950s and 187,500 in the 1960s, the Gregory Peck decades, when the name sat in seemingly every classroom. The long ebb followed: 115,600 in the 1970s, 52,100 in the 1990s, 10,500 in the 2010s, 3,510 so far this decade. In our records it goes to boys about 711,900, with about 2,900 girls in the midcentury wave. Greg did the daily work for two generations, as our nickname records note. A name that measured time twice: once for the world's calendar, once for America's.
Gregory's name family
One shared root links 4 names across 2 languages.
Shared root: from Greek Gregorios "watchful, alert", sixteen popes' favorite
The constellation
More branches
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Gregory peaked in the 1960s and the 1970s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
5,618 people · the #2,533 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 35,714 · median age 21
Among people named Gregory living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 516 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Gregory
People given the name Gregory in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Gregory deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Gregory 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 Gregory fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Gregory · Chinese American baby names · Saint names for babies and confirmation
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