Grace

A ballerina in the wings, a prayer before supper, a diplomat's well-chosen sentence — the Latin gratia carried a whole constellation of meanings (charm, favor, blessing, the divine gift freely given), and Grace took all of it on. The Christian theological tradition layered another meaning: grace as God's unearned gift, the central concept of Pauline theology and the entire Reformation argument about salvation. The name entered English with the Puritans in the seventeenth century as one of their great virtue names — Faith, Hope, Charity, Patience, Prudence, Grace — and softened over the centuries from a religious admonition into something gentler.

It reached a second peak when a Philadelphia girl named Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco on live television in April 1956, watched by an estimated 30 million viewers, and became the world's most photographed princess until her car accident in 1982. The name has stayed in the American top 50 for nearly the entire modern charting era, currently at rank forty.

Famous Graces also include Grace Coddington (the legendary Vogue creative director), Grace Jones (the Jamaican singer-actress-icon), Grace Slick (the Jefferson Airplane singer), Grace Hopper (the Navy admiral and computer scientist who developed COBOL), and Grace Murray Hopper, again. One syllable, one open vowel, one clean closing consonant — GRAYCE — the name sounds exactly like what it means. Pairs beautifully with everything (Grace Eleanor, Grace Mae, Grace Wren). Nicknames are scarce: Gracie for the affectionate, Gigi for some traditions. Elegant, devotional, still completely at ease in denim.