Criag
Rocky hill or crag of Celtic/Gaelic origin.
Name Census estimates that about 283 living Americans carry the first name Criag. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Criag today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Criag births was 1985 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Criag. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
283
~ 1 in 1,211,146 Americans
Peak year
1985
19 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1991 SSA rank
#8,436
Tracked since 1956
Census
Criag in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 332 people with the first name Criag, which placed it at #27,518 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#27,518
National first-name rank
People counted
332
332 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Criag
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Criag is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Criag described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Criag at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.6% · 241
- Black or African American19.0% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 8
- Two or more races2.4% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 5
Popularity
Criag: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Criag from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 117 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Criag by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Criag during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Criag
The name Criag has its origins in the Gaelic language, which is spoken in parts of Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. The name is believed to have emerged in the 5th or 6th century AD, during the early medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic word "creag," which means "rock" or "crag."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Criag can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The Annals mention a person named Criag mac Áedáin, who was a king of Dál Riata (a medieval kingdom in modern-day Scotland and Ireland) in the 7th century AD.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Criag. One of the most famous was Criag Érenach (born around 1080), an Irish cleric and scholar who served as the Abbot of Bangor Abbey in County Down, Ireland. He was renowned for his literary works and his contributions to the preservation of Gaelic culture.
Another important figure was Criag mac Lochlainn (died 1025), a King of Mide (a medieval kingdom in Ireland) and a member of the Clann Cholmáin dynasty. He was known for his military victories against the Norse-Gaels and his efforts to maintain the sovereignty of his kingdom.
In the 13th century, there was a Scottish clergyman named Criag Fergusson (born around 1200), who served as the Bishop of Dunkeld and played a significant role in the ecclesiastical affairs of Scotland during that period.
Moving forward in time, we find Criag MacDonald (1670-1745), a Scottish Jacobite soldier and chief of the Clan MacDonald of Keppoch. He fought in several battles during the Jacobite risings of the early 18th century, including the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715.
Another notable figure was Criag MacGregor (1806-1881), a Scottish-born Canadian politician and journalist. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada and played a prominent role in the political and cultural life of 19th-century Canada.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Criag, which has a rich heritage rooted in the Gaelic language and culture. The name's association with concepts like "rock" or "crag" may have been symbolic of strength, resilience, and endurance.
People
Criag + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Criag as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Criag: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Criag?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 283 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Criag going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,211,146 US residents.
Is Criag a common name?
We classify Criag as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 308 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Criag most popular?
The single biggest year for Criag was 1985, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Criag is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Criag in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 332 people with the name Criag, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,518 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Criag in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Criag?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Criag appears almost entirely male. Of the 327 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Criag?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Criag is White at 72.6%. The next largest groups are Black (19.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Criag most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Criag in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.6% (241 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Criag in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Criag a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Criag in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Criag still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Criag in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Criag can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Criag?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.