boy's name
Craig
KRAYG
- Origin Scottish Gaelic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 333,386
Northern Ireland
#505
2015 births
Craig is a boy's name from the Gaelic word for a rock or crag, and one of the few names that is a plain landscape noun rather than a compound. It peaked in 1960 and holds 533rd in Scotland.
- Craig is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin.
- Peaked in 1960, when 10,744 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 32,503 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Craig over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 17 |
| 1890s | 30 |
| 1900s | 78 |
| 1910s | 459 |
| 1920s | 912 |
| 1930s | 1,946 |
| 1940s | 20,350 |
| 1950s | 69,642 |
| 1960s | 84,964 |
| 1970s | 59,064 |
| 1980s | 38,311 |
| 1990s | 16,140 |
| 2000s | 5,543 |
| 2010s | 2,472 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 700 |
What Craig means
Craig means a rock, or a crag. The Gaelic word names the landform directly, so the name describes terrain rather than a person or a family.
Where Craig comes from
Craig is the Scottish Gaelic creag, a rock or crag — the English word crag comes from the same source, borrowed from Gaelic or Brittonic. It began as a topographic surname for someone living by a prominent rock, and became a given name in the twentieth century, chiefly in Scotland and then across the English-speaking world. Its meaning is unusually plain: most names are compounds, patronymics or saints' names, while Craig is simply the word for a lump of rock, in the same way that Heather and Dale are the plain words for a plant and a valley.
Craig in use
Craig peaked in the United States in 1960, when 10,744 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 533rd in Scotland on 6 births, 1653rd in the United States on 102 and 1794th in England and Wales, across 333,386 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Scotland gives it much its strongest position, which is unusual for a name whose volume is overwhelmingly American.
How popular is Craig?
In 2025, Craig was given to 102 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Craig is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Craig
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Craig also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Craig over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Craig in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Creag
Sibling names for Craig
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Craig — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Craig
What does the name Craig mean?
A rock or crag — the Scottish Gaelic creag, which also gives the English word crag.
Is Craig a Scottish name?
Yes, and Scotland gives it much its strongest current position at 533rd.
Is Craig a surname?
It began as one, given to people living by a prominent rock, and became a given name in the twentieth century.
How popular is Craig?
533rd in Scotland and 1653rd in the United States.
Is Craig a girl's or a boy's name?
Craig is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Craig?
Craig has 1 syllable.
Is Craig a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Craig currently ranks #533 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.