Craig is a Scottish, Irish and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

masculine given name, all variations derive from the same Celtic branch. The name has two origins. In some cases it can originate from a

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

, derived from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well a ...

word ''creag'', meaning "rock," similar to

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. In other cases, the given name originates from the

Scottish surname Scottish surnames are surnames currently found in Scotland, or surnames that have a historical connection with the country. History The earliest surnames found in Scotland occur during the reign of David I, King of Scots (1124–53). These were ...

'' Craig'', which is also derived from the same Scottish Gaelic word.

Cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical e ...

forms of ''creag'' include the Irish ''creig'',

Manx Manx (; formerly sometimes spelled Manks) is an adjective (and derived noun) describing things or people related to the Isle of Man: * Manx people **Manx surnames * Isle of Man It may also refer to: Languages * Manx language, also known as Manx ...

''creg'', and

''craig''. The English word " crag" also shares an origin with these Celtic words. The given name ''Craig'' is popular in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, and is used throughout the English speaking world. In North America it is often pronounced with a short vowel sound , as in "egg", while the British pronunciation sounds the

diphthong A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech ...

Notable people with the given name

Craig Adams (disambiguation) Craig Adams may refer to: * Craig Adams (musician) (born 1962), British musician * Craig Adams (ice hockey) (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey player in the National Hockey League * Craig Adams (footballer) (born 1974), English footballer See also * ...

, several people * Craig Ackerman (born 1974), American basketball announcer * Craig Albernaz (born 1982), American baseball coach *

Craig Alcock Craig Alcock (born 8 December 1987) is an former English professional footballer who recently played as a defender for club Harlow Town. Having begun his career at Yeovil Town he spent time on loan at Weston-super-Mare, Taunton Town and Ti ...

(born 1987), English professional footballer * Craig Anton (born 1962), American actor *

Craig Bartlett Craig Michael Bartlett (born October 18, 1956) is an American animator, best known for writing, directing, creating and producing the Nickelodeon television series '' Hey Arnold!'' and the PBS Kids television series '' Dinosaur Train'' and '' R ...

, (born 1956), American animator *

Craig Bellamy Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with N ...

(born 1979), Welsh footballer *

Craig Biggio Craig Alan Biggio (; born December 14, 1965) is an American former second baseman, outfielder and catcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career from 1988 through 2007 for the Houston Astros. A seven-time National League (NL) Al ...

(born 1965), American baseball player *

Craig Breedlove Craig Breedlove (born March 23, 1937) is an American professional race car driver and a five-time world land speed record holder. He was the first person in history to reach , and , using several turbojet-powered vehicles, all named ''Spirit of ...

(born 1937), American racing driver *

Craig Breslow Craig Andrew Breslow (pronounced BREHZ-loh; born August 8, 1980) is an American baseball executive and former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently the Assistant General Manager/Vice President, Director of Pitch ...

(born 1980), American baseball player * Craig Brown (footballer, born 1940), former coach of the Scotland national football team *

Craig Brown (satirist) Craig Edward Moncrieff Brown (born 23 May 1957) is an English critic and satirist, best known for his parodies in ''Private Eye''. Life and career Brown was educated at Eton and the University of Bristol and then became a freelance journalist ...

(born 1957), English writer and humorist * Craig Challen, Australian technical diver and cave explorer *

Craig Chaquico Craig Clinton Chaquico (or Chaquiço, ; born September 26, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and composer. From 1974 to 1990 he was lead guitarist for the rock bands Jefferson Starship and Starship. In 1993, he started a solo career as ...

(born 1954), American guitarist *

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronatio ...

(born 1964), British actor *

Craig Claiborne Craig Claiborne (September 4, 1920 January 22, 2000) was an American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author. A long-time food editor and restaurant critic for '' The New York Times'', he was also the author of numerous cookbooks a ...

(1920–2000), American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author *

Craig Cohn Craig Cohn (born May 1, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Craig Classic. Cohn was initially trained at the Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) dojo by Daisuke Sekimoto and has spent most of his career working i ...

(born 1983), American professional wrestler * Craig Considine (academic) (born 1986) Christian and American scholar of Islam *

Craig B. Cooper Craig B. Cooper (born September 8, 1949) is a professional aquanaut from the United States who served from 1991 to 2010 as Operations Manager for the Aquarius Reef Base underwater habitat. Cooper is known to fellow divers by the nickname "Coo ...

(born 1949), American aquanaut *

Craig Cotton Craig Lee Cotton (July 7, 1947December 21, 2013) was an American football tight end who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers. He was drafted by the Chargers in ...

(born 1980), American football player * Craig Curry (born 1961), American football player *

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, after which he has rel ...

(born 1981), English singer-songwriter *

Craig Davidson Craig Davidson (born 1975) is a Canadian author of short stories and novels, who has published work under both his own name and the pen names Patrick Lestewka and Nick Cutter. His style has been compared to that of Chuck Palahniuk. Early life ...

(born 1976), Canadian author * Craig Dawson (born 1990), English footballer * Craig Disley (born 1981), English professional footballer * Craig Douglas (born 1941), British singer *

Craig Doyle Craig Doyle (born 17 December 1970, Dublin) is an Irish television and radio presenter. To British viewers he is recognisable as working for the BBC and ITV and more recently BT Sport. Irish viewers also know him as the host of RTÉ One cha ...

(born 1970), Irish TV and radio presenter * Craig Dudley (born 1979), English footballer *

Craig Engels Craig Engels (born May 1, 1994) is an American middle-distance runner. He competed for the United States at the 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, where he won the men's 1500 meters. In the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Engels was fo ...

(born 1994), American middle-distance runner *

Craig Esherick Craig Robert Esherick (born November 1, 1956) is an American academic, lawyer, and former basketball coach who is currently an assistant professor of sport management for George Mason University and color commentator for college basketball gam ...

(born 1956), American professor * Craig Fairbrass (born 1964), English actor *

Craig Ferguson Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show '' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won ...

(born 1962), Scottish-American comedian, succeeded Craig Kilborn as host of CBS' ''The Late Late Show'' *

Craig Flournoy John Craig Flournoy (born June 26, 1951 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA) is a journalism professor at the University of Cincinnati and a former investigative reporter for ''The Dallas Morning News'', at which his work included coverage of the latt ...

(born 1951), American journalist *

Craig Fortnam Craig Edward Fortnam (born September 1967) is an English composer, conductor and musician. Fortnam is a skilled guitarist and bass guitarist, specialising in nylon-string acoustic guitar (which he plays in a style drawing on classical and Afr ...

(born 1967), English musician and conductor *

Craig Foster (disambiguation) Craig Foster (born 1969) is an Australian former association footballer and current commentator and human rights advocate. Craig Foster may also refer to: * Craig Foster (businessman), CEO of Clean Seas, an Australian seafood company *Craig Foste ...

, several people * Craig Frost (born 1948), American keyboardist *

Craig Gannon Craig Gannon (born 30 July 1966) is an English guitar player, best known as the second guitarist in the Smiths. He is now a composer for film and television. Career Born in Manchester, Gannon had played in bands with friends since he was 12 ye ...

(born 1966), English guitarist * Craig Gardner (born 1986), English professional footballer * Craig Gass (born 1970), American actor * Craig Gazey (born 1982), British actor * Craig Gilchrist (born 1970), South African basketball coach and former player * Craig Gilroy (born 1991), Irish rugby player *

Craig Greenberg Craig Greenberg (born August 22, 1973) is an American businessman, lawyer, and politician from Kentucky.

(born 1973), American businessman, lawyer, and politician *

Craig Hooper Craig Lincoln Hooper (born 23 November 1959) is an Australian musician who was a core member (with Dave Mason) of indie rock band The Reels (1977–1992), and was in bands The Mullanes (the initial incarnation of Crowded House), The Church Ch ...

(born 1959), Australian musician *

Craig Taro Gold Craig Taro Gold (born November 1969), known as Taro Gold, is an American author, entertainer, singer-songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is the author of several ''New York Times'' best-selling books including ''Open Your Mind, Open Your Life'' and ...

(born 1969), American author and entrepreneur *

Craig Goldman Craig Goldman (born October 3, 1963) is an American politician. He serves as a Republican member for the 97th district of the Texas House of Representatives. Born in Fort Worth, Texas. Goldman attended the University of Texas at Austin, where ...

(born 1968), American politician *

Craig Gordon Craig Sinclair Gordon (born 31 December 1982) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, where he is club captain, and the Scottish national team. Gordon started his ...

(born 1982), Scottish footballer *

Craig Hertwig John Craig "Sky" Hertwig (January 15, 1952 – May 30, 2012) was an American football offensive tackle who played three seasons with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Lions in the fourth round of the ...

(1952–2012), American football player *

Craig Hinton Craig Paul Alexander Hinton (7 May 1964 – 3 December 2006) was a British writer best known for his work on various spin-offs from the BBC Television series '' Doctor Who''. He also wrote articles for various science fiction magazines, an ...

(1964–2006), British writer * Craig Horner (born 1983), Australian actor * Craig Hutchison (swimmer) (born 1975), Canadian freestyle swimmer *

Craig James (disambiguation) Craig James may refer to: *Craig James (politician) (born 1941), U.S. Representative from Florida *Craig James (running back) (born 1961), American football commentator and former player *Craig James (economist) (born 1962), Australian economist *C ...

, multiple people * Craig Jones (disambiguation), several people *

Craig Joubert Craig Paul Joubert (born 8 November 1977) is a South African professional rugby union referee and a Referee Talent Development Coach at World Rugby. Joubert officiated in domestic first class matches in South Africa since 2003, in matches in the ...

(born 1977), South African rugby player *

Craig Juntunen Craig Juntunen (born December 12, 1954) is a former professional football quarterback who played two seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He played college football at the Uni ...

(born 1954), American-Canadian football player * Craig Kallman, chairman and CEO of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

* Craig Keith (born 1971), American football player *

Craig Kilborn Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's ''Spo ...

, American talk show host, preceded Craig Ferguson as host of CBS' ''The Late Late Show'' * Craig Kieswetter (born 1987), English cricketer * Craig Kimbrel (born 1988), American baseball player * Craig Kyle (born 1971), American writer *

Craig Larman Craig Larman (born 1958) is a Canadian computer scientist, author, and organizational development consultant. With Bas Vodde, he is best known for formulating LeSS (Large-Scale Scrum), and for several books on product and software development. E ...

(born 1958), Canadian computer scientist * Craig Laundy (born 1971), former Australian politician *

Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is currently a full-time advisor to the board of directors at Highland Football League club Brechin City. During his playing career ...

(born 1964), Scottish football coach * Craig Liddle (born 1971), former English footballer * Craig Low (born 1985), Australian comedian *

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Su ...

(born 1974), Australian racing driver * Craig Mabbitt (born 1987), American singer-songwriter *

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1971 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer, and was famous during his tenure under Bad Boy Records. Early life and career Craig Jamieson Mack was born in The Bronx, New York, and raised on ...

(1970–2018), American rapper * Craig MacLean (born 1971), Scottish cyclist *

Craig McCracken Craig McCracken (born March 31, 1971) is an American animator, writer, producer, director, storyboard artist, and designer known for creating the Cartoon Network's ''The Powerpuff Girls'' and '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', Disney Cha ...

(born 1971), American cartoonist * Craig McKinley (disambiguation), several people * Craig McLachlan, (born 1965) Australian actor and musician *

Craig MacTavish Craig MacTavish (born August 15, 1958) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player, currently in an assistant coaching position with the St. Louis Blues. He played centre for 17 seasons in the National Hockey League with t ...

, (born 1958) American hockey player *

Craig Melchert Harold Craig Melchert (born April 5, 1945) is an American linguist known particularly for his work on the Anatolian branch of Indo-European. Biography He received his B.A. in German from Michigan State University in 1967 and his Ph.D. in Lingu ...

, (born 1945) American linguist * Craig Menear (born c. 1958), American business executive *

Craig Morgan Craig Morgan Greer (born July 17, 1964) is an American country music artist. A veteran of the United States Army as a forward observer, Morgan began his musical career in 2000 on Atlantic Records, releasing his self-titled debut album for that ...

(born 1964), American country singer * Craig Murray (born 1958), former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan * Craig Nicholls (born 1977), Australian musician and frontman of The Vines * Craig T. Nelson (born 1944), American actor *

Craig Newmark Craig Alexander Newmark (born December 6, 1952) is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of the classifieds website Craigslist. Prior to founding Craigslist, he worked as a computer programmer for companie ...

(born 1952), American founder of the online classified site Craigslist *

Craig Oliver (disambiguation) Craig Oliver may refer to: *Craig Oliver (British journalist) Sir Craig Stewart Oliver (born 15 May 1969) is a British news editor, producer and media executive, and the former Director of Politics and Communications for British prime ministe ...

* Craig Oliver (media executive) (born 1969), Downing Street Director of Communications and former BBC media executive * Craig Pattison (born 1971), Canadian Rock musician * Craig Pittman (born 1959), former American wrestler *

Craig Puki Craig Alan Puki (January 18, 1957 – May 14, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Cardinals He was selected by ...

(born 1957), American football player *

Craig Reucassel Craig Bruce Reucassel is an Australian television and radio comedian. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. He hosted the Australian version of ''Balls of Steel'', which premiered in April 2011. Since 2013, Reucasse ...

(born 1976), Australian radio and television presenter * Craig Revel Horwood (born 1965), Australian-British dancer and choreographer * Craig Rice (author) (1908-1957), American author * Craig Roberts (disambiguation), several people *

Craig Robinson (actor) Craig Phillip Robinson (born October 25, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for portraying Darryl Philbin on '' The Office'' (2005–2013). He also portrayed LeVar "Freight Train" Brown on '' The Cleveland Show'' (2009– ...

(born 1971), American actor and stand-up comedian *

Craig Rodwell Craig L. Rodwell (October 31, 1940 – June 18, 1993) was an American gay rights activist known for founding the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop on November 24, 1967, the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors, and as the prime mover ...

(1940-1993), American

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

activist and founder of the first gay bookstore *

Craig Reynolds (disambiguation) Craig Reynolds may refer to: *Craig Reynolds (actor) (1907–1949), American film actor *Craig Reynolds (American football) (born 1996), American football player *Craig Reynolds (baseball) (born 1952), baseball player * Craig Reynolds (computer grap ...

, several people *

Craig Russell (disambiguation) Craig Russell may refer to: * Craig Russell (Canadian actor) (1948–1990), female impersonator and actor * Craig Russell (English actor) (born 1977) * Craig L. Russell (born 1949), software architect * Craig H. Russell (born 1951), American com ...

, several people *

Craig Sheffer Craig Eric Sheffer (born April 23, 1960) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his leading roles as Norman Maclean in the film '' A River Runs Through It, ''Aaron Boone in the film ''Nightbreed'', Joe Kane in the film '' The ...

(born 1960), American actor * Craig Stevens (disambiguation), several people *

Craig Stott Craig Matthew Stott (born 14 April 1990) is an Australian actor, perhaps best known for his role as Josh Watkins in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ABC television drama ''East of Everything'' (2008–09), and as the co-lead character Jo ...

(born 1990), Australian actor * Craig Taborn (born 1970), American musician *

Craig Thompson Craig Matthew Thompson (born September 21, 1975) is an American graphic novelist best known for his books '' Good-bye, Chunky Rice'' (1999), '' Blankets'' (2003), ''Carnet de Voyage'' (2004), '' Habibi'' (2011), and ''Space Dumplins'' (2015). Th ...

(born 1975), American cartoonist * Craig Unger (born 1949), American journalist and writer *

Craig Venter John Craig Venter (born October 14, 1946) is an American biotechnologist and businessman. He is known for leading one of the first draft sequences of the human genome and assembled the first team to transfect a cell with a synthetic chromosome. ...

(born 1946), American biologist * Craig Washington (born 1941), former United States Congressman *

Craig Wasson Craig Wasson (born March 15, 1954) is an American actor. He made his film debut in ''Rollercoaster'' (1977). He is best known for his roles as Jake Scully in Brian DePalma's ''Body Double'' (1984), and Neil Gordon in Chuck Russell's '' A Nightma ...

(born 1954), American actor * Craig Waters (born 1956), American lawyer and court spokesperson * Craig Williamson (born 1946), South African policeman and spy * Craig Zimmerman (born 1974), American actor *

Craig Zonca Craig Zonca (born 1984) is an Australian radio and television presenter. He is currently a breakfast presenter on ABC Radio Brisbane and a weather presenter on ABC Television. After presenting the Queensland edition of ''The Country Hour'' f ...

(born 1984), Australian radio and television presenter * Craig Zucker (born 1975), American politician

Fictional characters

* Craig Cody, a character in the movie and TV series of '' Animal Kingdom'' * Craig Dean, a character in ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a da ...

'' * Craig Dixon (EastEnders), short-lived ''EastEnders'' character * Craig Feldspar, a recurring character in ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctiona ...

'', portrayed by David Anthony Higgins *Craig Gilner, the main character of '' It's Kind of a Funny Story'' *

Craig Manning Craig E. Manning is a professor of geology and geochemistry in the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he served as department chair between 2009 and 2012. Manning's research inter ...

, a character in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' *

Craig Marduk is a fictional character from the ''Tekken'' fighting game series released by Namco Bandai Games. Marduk was introduced in ''Tekken 4'', and he has returned for all subsequent releases, though he is only available in ''Tekken 7'' as a DLC charac ...

, a character in ''

Tekken 4 is a fighting video game developed and published by Namco as the fourth main and fifth installment in the ''Tekken'' series, following the release of the non-canon crossover titled '' Tekken Tag Tournament'' in 1999. It was released as an arcad ...

'' *Craig Owens, a character in the '' Doctor Who'' episodes '' The Lodger'' and '' Closing Time'' *Craig Ramirez, a character in the Nickelodeon sitcom ''

Drake & Josh ''Drake & Josh'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series follows two teenage stepbrothers Drake Parker ( Drake Bell) and Josh Nichols ( Josh Peck) as they live together despite opposite personalities. Th ...

'' *

Craig Tucker Craig Tucker is a fictional character in the adult animated television series '' South Park''. One of the main characters' fourth-grade classmates, he debuted in the season one episode "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" singing "We Wish You a Merry ...

, a recurring '' South Park'' character *Craig Williams, the main character of ''

Craig of the Creek ''Craig of the Creek'' is an American animated television series created by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin for Cartoon Network. The show's pilot episode debuted directly on the official app on December 1, 2017. The series premiered online on Februa ...

'' * Dean Craig Pelton a recurring character on ''

Community (TV Series) ''Community'' is an American television sitcom created by Dan Harmon. The series ran for 110 episodes over six seasons, with its first five seasons airing on NBC from September 17, 2009, to April 17, 2014, and its final season airing on Yah ...

'' *Craig, Sanjay's pet snake from ''

Sanjay and Craig ''Sanjay and Craig'' is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Dirschberger, Jay Howell, and Andreas Trolf for Nickelodeon. Produced by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, the series revolves around Sanjay, voiced by Maulik Pancholy, and his be ...

Notable people with the given name

Fictional characters

References

See also