boy's name
Gregory
GREG-uh-ree
- Origin Greek
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 818,295
the United States
#593
2025 births
Gregory is a boy's name from the Greek for watchful or alert. Sixteen popes have borne it — more than any name except John — and one of them gave the world the calendar it still runs on.
- Gregory is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1962, when 22,063 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 6,725 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Gregory 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 | 39 |
| 1890s | 92 |
| 1900s | 166 |
| 1910s | 1,093 |
| 1920s | 2,198 |
| 1930s | 3,785 |
| 1940s | 43,315 |
| 1950s | 178,951 |
| 1960s | 188,298 |
| 1970s | 116,235 |
| 1980s | 94,273 |
| 1990s | 52,221 |
| 2000s | 20,097 |
| 2010s | 10,476 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,514 |
What Gregory means
Gregory means watchful, vigilant or alert. The Greek verb means to be awake, so the sense is wakefulness maintained deliberately rather than alertness as a temperament.
Where Gregory comes from
Gregory comes from the Greek Gregorios, from gregorein, to be watchful or awake. Early Christians read it against the Gospel injunction to watch and pray, which is why it became a favored name for monks and bishops. Sixteen popes have taken it, second only to John: Gregory I, called the Great, sent the mission that converted the Anglo-Saxons and lent his name to Gregorian chant; Gregory XIII reformed the calendar in 1582, cutting ten days out of October to correct the drift of the Julian year, which is why most of the world now keeps Gregorian time. The name reached English through the Church rather than through any secular route.
Gregory in use
Gregory peaked in the United States in 1962, when 22,063 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 593rd in the United States on 493 births, 896th in Scotland, 1051st in Ireland, 1454th in England and Wales and 1930th in France, across 818,295 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Gregory?
In 2025, Gregory was given to 493 babies in the United States, ranking #593 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Gregory 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.
How Gregory is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Grégory | Grégory is Gregory written with an acute accent in France, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #1,930 in France, against #6,547 for Gregory. | 11,830 |
Names that peaked alongside Gregory
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Gregory also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Gregory over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Gregory
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Gregory 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.
Sibling names for Gregory
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Gregory — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Gregory
What does the name Gregory mean?
Watchful or vigilant, from the Greek gregorein, to be awake.
Is the Gregorian calendar named after the name?
After a bearer of it — Pope Gregory XIII, who reformed the calendar in 1582 by cutting ten days out of October.
How many popes were called Gregory?
Sixteen, second only to John.
How popular is Gregory?
593rd in the United States, down from a 1962 peak of 22,063 births.
Is Gregory a girl's or a boy's name?
Gregory is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Gregory?
Gregory has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Gregory?
Gregory is usually shortened to Greg.
Is Gregory a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Gregory currently ranks #593 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.