It is typically an Anglo-French form of the name of the town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England.
[2] 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.
The surname was later taken to Northern Ireland by settlers from Scotland and England in the 17th century.
The surname is presently commonly used as a masculine given name (see Graham given name).