The name Grace has had a huge surge in popularity in the last twenty years. It was in the U.S. Top 20 from 1880 to 1908, and then remained first in the Top 50 and then the Top 100 until 1938. It never dropped below #397 (in 1977), but it didn’t regain its former popularity until 1995, when it re-entered the Top 100 at #97. It began surging upward quicker and quicker, peaking at #13 in 2003 and 2004. In 2015, it was #19.
If you like the name and/or its meaning, but would prefer something a bit more below the radar, here are some names to consider. As always, these could be used for fictional characters or pets, not just children. I know some of these names wouldn’t work so well in a modern, Anglophone country!
Unisex:
Chisomo is Chewa, a Bantu language spoken in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique.
Yahui can mean “graceful favour/benefit” in Chinese.
Yating is a Chinese name composed of the elements ya, which can mean “graceful, refined, elegant,” and ting, which can mean “graceful, pretty.”
Yazhu can mean “graceful lute/zither” in Chinese.
Zedong is a Chinese name composed of the elements ze, which can mean “grace, brilliance, moist,” and dong, which can mean “east.”
Female:
Amara is Igbo, a language spoken in Nigeria.
Amarachi means “God’s grace” in Igbo.
Charis is Greek.
Eun-Jeong is a Korean name composed of the elements eun, which can mean “attentive, careful, anxious” or “charity, kindness, mercy,” and jeong, which can mean “graceful, pretty.”
Ghada means “graceful woman” in Arabic.
Graça is Portuguese.
Gracia is Spanish.
Gratia is German.
Grazia is Italian.
Juan can mean “graceful” in Chinese. For obvious reasons, I wouldn’t recommend this in either an Anglophone or Hispanophone country!
Krupa is Sanskrit.
Lavanya is Sanskrit.
Na can mean “graceful” in Chinese.
Nyazik means “graceful” in Turkmen.
Sanaz may mean “full of grace” in Persian.
Seo-Yeon is a Korean name composed of the elements seo, which can mean “auspicious, felicitous omen,” and yeon, which can mean “graceful, beautiful.”
Ya can mean “graceful” in Chinese.
Yaling can mean “graceful tinkling of jade” in Chinese.
Yawen can mean “graceful cloud patterns” in Chinese.
Male:
Armo is Finnish.
Chares is Greek. This was the name of the sculptor of the Colossus of Rhodes.
Chariton is Greek.
Esmond is derived from the Old English elements east (grace) and mund (protection).
Fadl is Arabic.
Gratian comes from the Latin name Gratianus.
Hulderic means “graceful power/rule” in Ancient Germanic.
Khariton is Russian and Georgian.
Sulo is Finnish.
Zayn is Arabic.
Onomastics Outside the Box 