Grace: meaning and UK use

What does Grace mean?

The given name uses the English word grace, ultimately from Latin gratia. It is conventionally classed as a virtue name.

Language or name family covered

English virtue name

Meaning or derivation

Grace

Our browsing group

girl; classic

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Grace

Pronunciation and related forms

GRAYSS (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Gracie. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Grace?

In 2025, 1,309 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Grace, making it the 27th most popular girls’ name. That is down 2 places on 2024, when it ranked 25th. It has slipped from 14th in 2015, 13 places in ten years. Its best year in the ONS series was 2006, at 1st. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

27th

2025 registrations

1,309

Best rank in this series

1st (2006)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Grace: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	27	1,309
2024	25	1,390
2023	18	1,541
2022	17	1,675
2021	14	1,992
2020	11	2,010
2019	8	2,330
2018	10	2,301
2017	13	2,309
2016	15	2,498
2015	14	2,658
2014	11	2,785
2013	13	2,799
2012	14	3,188
2011	8	3,691
2010	9	3,722
2009	7	4,208
2008	4	4,775
2007	2	4,939
2006	1	5,026
2005	7	3,653
2004	11	3,393
2003	14	3,165
2002	19	2,519
2001	23	2,144
2000	21	2,187
1999	28	1,867
1998	35	1,582
1997	42	1,440
1996	41	1,421

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 80,517. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Grace

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Aishaclassic · Living or alive
• Ameliaclassic · A variant of Amalia
• Beatriceclassic · A form of Beatrix
• Charlotteclassic · A feminine form of Charles
• Claraclassic · Clear, bright or famous
• Evelynclassic · From the given name Aveline

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Grace, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.