There's something sweet about a boy who shares a name with the cracker of kid-dom. And though that's one of our first associations with the name, Graham is also an English surname with an extensive history. Americans have taken note of it as early as 1880, and it's always been in the top 1,000 names. The sound is appealing and unpretentious. To put it simply: it’s cute!
Celebrities with the Surname Graham
Because it's a fairly common surname, there have been lots of celebrities, authors, politicians, and other recognized people named Graham. Among many others, they include
- Billy Graham
- Frank Porter Graham
- Kenneth Grahame
- Heather Graham
- Lauren Graham
But perhaps the most famous figure with this name is the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922). His well-known middle name was actually a gift for his eleventh birthday! It was chosen to honor a friend of the family whose surname was Graham.
More about Graham
- Graham is gaining popularity and is ranked at #199 for the year 2014.
- Graham is the name of a Scottish clan as well as a group of hills in Scotland.
- There are several small towns named Graham across the country; located in Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington.
- Graham can also be spelled Graeham, Graeme and Grahame
- Celebs to use Graham for their son include Michael Landon and Heather Payne.
Very interesting blog. I like name origins, and word origins in general!
ReplyDeleteI think Graham is probably more likely 'Home of Grae(/the Grae tribe)' rather than 'house' specifically. The '-ham' part is definitly Anglo-Saxon (Old English - 'House' in the grand scheme of things come from another word AS word, 'hus'). Old English, 'Stan' became 'stone' with the vowel shift; 'ban' became 'bone'. It follows that 'ham' became 'home'...
Just a thought.
Yours,
AJN
http://adamjamesnall.blogspot.com/
p.s. My dad's name is also Graham.
Thank you so much for your input! Wow, I'm impressed.
ReplyDelete