Gryffin
Of Celtic origin, brave and strong like the mythical beast, the griffin.
Name Census estimates that about 1,061 living Americans carry the first name Gryffin. It is a predominantly male name (98.1% of registrations). The average person named Gryffin today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gryffin births was 2022 (99 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gryffin. 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 Gryffin with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Gryffin is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 323,048 Americans
Peak year
2022
99 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,503
Tracked since 2000
Census
Gryffin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 679 people with the first name Gryffin, which placed it at #16,555 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
#16,555
National first-name rank
People counted
679
679 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gryffin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gryffin is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.1%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Gryffin 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 Gryffin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.0% · 557
- Two or more races9.1% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 9
- Black or African American0.9% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Gryffin
Gryffin leans heavily male at 98.1% of total registrations, but 20 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Gryffin as a male name
- Ranked #2,503 in 2024
- 54 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (97 births)
Gryffin as a female name
- Ranked #14,174 in 2022
- 6 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2017 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gryffin leans strongly male. 640 people counted with this name were male (94.3%), compared with 39 female bearers (5.7%).
Popularity
Gryffin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gryffin from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 524 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Gryffin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gryffin 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 Gryffin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gryffins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Gryffin, while Wisconsin, New Jersey, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gryffin
The name Gryffin is derived from the Welsh word "gruffudd," which means "strong lord" or "powerful leader." It has its origins in the 6th century, when it was a common name among the Welsh nobility and ruling class.
In the Middle Ages, the name Gryffin was popular among the Welsh royalty and aristocracy. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was Gruffudd ap Cynan, a Welsh prince who lived from 1055 to 1137 and was a prominent figure in the struggle for Welsh independence against the Normans.
The name Gryffin also appears in several medieval Welsh texts and chronicles, such as the "Mabinogion," a collection of Welsh mythological stories. In these tales, characters with the name Gryffin are often portrayed as brave warriors or wise leaders.
During the Renaissance period, the name Gryffin gained popularity across Europe, particularly in England and Scotland. One notable figure from this era was Gruffydd ap Rhys (1516-1584), a Welsh nobleman and soldier who fought in the English Civil War.
In the 17th century, the name Gryffin was adopted by English Puritan families, who were drawn to its biblical connotations of strength and leadership. One example is Griffith John (1831-1912), a Welsh Protestant missionary who worked in China.
In more recent history, the name Gryffin has been associated with several notable individuals, including Gruffydd Aled Williams (1879-1962), a Welsh poet and writer, and Gruffydd Eilian Davies (1923-2009), a Welsh actor and playwright.
Throughout its history, the name Gryffin has retained its strong connection to Welsh culture and heritage, while also gaining recognition in other parts of the world. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its powerful meaning and rich historical significance.
People
Gryffin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gryffin 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
Gryffin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gryffin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,061 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gryffin 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 323,048 US residents.
Is Gryffin a common name?
We classify Gryffin as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,069 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gryffin most popular?
The single biggest year for Gryffin was 2022, when 99 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gryffin is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gryffin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 679 people with the name Gryffin, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,555 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 Gryffin 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 Gryffin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gryffin leans strongly male. 640 people counted with this name were male (94.3%), compared with 39 female bearers (5.7%). 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 Gryffin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gryffin is White at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.1%) and Hispanic (6.3%). 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 Gryffin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gryffin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (557 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 Gryffin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gryffin a male name?
Yes, 98.1% of people registered as Gryffin 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 Gryffin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gryffin 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 Gryffin 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 Gryffin?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Gryffin at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.