I've heard it used as a first name fairly often in birth announcements, naming boards, etc., but not as much recently. It has been steadily dropping on the popularity charts. I don't think that it's dropped much in popularity as a middle name though.
Grace has never been on my list, but I can appreciate it. I can think of 3 people with the first name
Grace who I have actually met. One was elderly and two were around my age (I'm currently 23). I don't know very many young children, but if I did, I probably would have met more people named
Grace.
I love the name
Marie as a first name. It's very common as a middle name, but I don't think that it's necessarily boring. It sounds too pretty to be boring if you ask me.
Grace isn't necessarily boring either; it's just common.
As for
Gracie, I've never liked it at all. It seems too cutesy. I definitely prefer
Grace as the full name.
Gracie is better as a nickname, although I don't really care for it even then.
This message was edited 10/7/2009, 9:05 AM