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Grier vs Griffith

American parents have registered 1,550 Griffiths since 1880, against 756 Griers. But in 2025 it was Grier that was commoner, 26 babies to 22.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Grier against Griffith, 1880 to 2025 0 13 25 38 50 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Grier Griffith

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 112 years in which either name was published, Griffith for 91 years and Grier for 21 years. The lead changed hands 7 times.

Side by side

  Grier Griffith
Total US births 7561,550
Most in one year 4326
Babies in 2025 2622
Estimated living today 6401,100
Median age today 1231
Peak year 20071918
Best rank 4,475th girls1,404th boys
Rank in 2025 5,917th4,539th
First recorded 19161899
Girls / boys 424 / 3320 / 1,550

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Griffiths alive today are over 31; half the Griers are over 12. That is 19 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Grier and Griffith.