Greer
A feminine name derived from Scottish and Old Norse meaning "watchful guardian, alert".
Name Census estimates that about 3,316 living Americans carry the first name Greer. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Greer today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Greer births was 2024 (126 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Greer. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Greer with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 103,364 Americans
Peak year
2024
126 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,980
Tracked since 1912
Census
Greer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,043 people with the first name Greer, which placed it at #5,581 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
#5,581
National first-name rank
People counted
3.0K
3,043 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Greer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Greer is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Greer 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 Greer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.6% · 2,514
- Black or African American10.1% · 307
- Two or more races3.5% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Greer
Greer leans heavily female at 80.9% of total registrations, but 704 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Greer as a male name
- Ranked #4,001 in 2024
- 27 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (30 births)
Greer as a female name
- Ranked #1,980 in 2024
- 99 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (99 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Greer leans strongly female. 2,513 people counted with this name were female (82.4%), compared with 537 male bearers (17.6%).
Popularity
Greer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Greer from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 915 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Greer remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Greer 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 Greer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Greers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Greer, while South Carolina, Kentucky, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Greer
The name Greer has its origins in the Scottish and English cultures, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "greier," which means "to lament" or "to complain." This word, in turn, finds its origins in the Latin word "gratus," meaning "pleasing" or "agreeable."
In its earliest known usage, Greer was a surname that likely emerged as a descriptive name for someone who frequently complained or lamented. Over time, it transitioned into a given name, particularly in Scotland and parts of northern England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Greer can be found in the 13th century, where it appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296. These were scrolls containing the names of Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Greer. One of the earliest was Greer of Wilton (c. 1350-1425), a Scottish clergyman who served as the Chancellor of Scotland and played a significant role in the political affairs of the time.
Another prominent figure was Sir Robert Greer (c. 1570-1638), an English soldier and landowner who served as Governor of Dunkirk during the Anglo-Spanish War. He was knighted by King James I in recognition of his military service.
In the realm of literature, Greer Garson (1904-1996) was a renowned British-American actress who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Mrs. Miniver in the 1942 film of the same name. She was also known for her philanthropic work and her advocacy for various causes.
Greer Hendricks (born 1968) is a contemporary American author best known for her co-authored psychological thriller novels, including "The Wife Between Us" and "An Anonymous Girl."
Another notable figure was Greer Martini (1932-2013), an American guitarist and songwriter who was a pioneer of the rock and roll genre. He co-wrote several hit songs, including "Teenager in Love" and "Silhouettes."
While the name Greer has its roots in medieval times, it has endured and continues to be used as a given name in modern times, carrying with it a rich historical legacy.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Greer
People
Greer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Greer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Greer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Greer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,316 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Greer 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 103,364 US residents.
Is Greer a common name?
We classify Greer as "Rare". It ranks above 95.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,681 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Greer most popular?
The single biggest year for Greer was 2024, when 126 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Greer is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Greer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,043 people with the name Greer, or 1.01 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,581 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 Greer 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 Greer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Greer leans strongly female. 2,513 people counted with this name were female (82.4%), compared with 537 male bearers (17.6%). 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 Greer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Greer is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Greer most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Greer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.6% (2,514 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 Greer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Greer a female name?
Yes, 80.9% of people registered as Greer in the SSA data are female. 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 Greer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Greer 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 Greer 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 common is the name Greer?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Greer at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.