Graham (given name)
Graham () is a masculine given name in the English language. Origins. According to some sources, it comes from an Old English word meaning or referring to a "grey home", or "gravel homestead". According to other sources, it comes from the surname "Graham", which in turn is an Anglo-French form of the name of the town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England. The settlement is recorded in the 11th century "Domesday Book" variously as "Grantham", "Grandham", "Granham" and "Graham". This place name is thought to be derived from the Old English elements "grand", possibly meaning "gravel", and "ham , meaning hamlet" the English word given to small settlements of smaller size than villages. Variants and use. In the 12th century the surname was taken from England to Scotland by Sir William de Graham, who founded Clan Graham. Variant spellings of the forename are "Grahame" and "Graeme". The forename "Graham" is considered to be an English and Scottish given name. Its origin as a surname has led to its occasional use as a female given name, as for example in the case of Graham Cockburn, a daughter of Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn.