Name Awesome

Gray

#1,418 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Greek

Gray has been given to 5,842 babies in the U.S. since 1885. In 2025 it ranked #1,418 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2023, with 175 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 88% boys, 12% girls all-time.

Babies named Gray, 2025

1 in 25,900

Gray over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Gray over time

In 2025, Gray went to 15% girls and 85% boys.

18852025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Gray: meaning, origin, and history

Greek

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Gray means

Gray means “Greek”, associated with Graecus.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

* As an English, Irish, Scottish, and Norman surname, from the placename Graye-sur-Mer in Calvados, from Late Latin Graecus (“Greek”). * Also as an English surname, from the adjective gray.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Gray (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Gray is used in English.

Gray comes through Late Latin Graecus.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Gray is pronounced /ɡɹeɪ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,166 boys were recorded with the name Gray between 1885 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 175 in 2023; its best national rank was #838 in 1889.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,237 in 2020 to #1,418 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,275 in 2015 to #1,418 in 2025.

In the United States, 676 girls were recorded with the name Gray between 1912 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 47 in 2014; its best national rank was #2,983 in 1913.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,858 in 2020 to #5,613 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #3,500 in 2015 to #5,613 in 2025.

How common is Gray?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 25,900
128 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 13,300
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,418
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
17,953 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Gray sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5002%

Put another way: gather 17,953 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Gray. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Grays were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Gray was born before 2005 — so the typical Gray is around 20 today.

Median birth year
2005
About 20 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
25.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
54.2%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
4,374
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 25.1% of all recorded uses (1,296).

Is Gray rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−73
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−181
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−143
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.91×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
73.1%
Peak was 2023 (175)
Years since peak
2
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
8.8% average annual change
Best rank ever
#838
1889

Spellings of Gray

Gray is not the most common spelling — Gary is, with 32.0% against Gray's 0.18%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Gray is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Gray was most concentrated in North Carolina — about 1 in 4,545 boys, against 1 in 14,247 across all states with data. It was least common in Michigan (1 in 100,000).

122 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1North Carolina1 in 4,545
  2. 2Tennessee1 in 4,545
  3. 3Utah1 in 6,667
  4. 4Louisiana1 in 7,143
  5. 5Alabama1 in 7,692
  6. 6Georgia1 in 8,333
  7. 7Florida1 in 11,111
  8. 8South Carolina1 in 11,111

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Gray is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Gray was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 665,943 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Georgia1 in —
  3. 3Illinois1 in —
  4. 4New York1 in —
  5. 5Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Gray has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Gray around the world

Where Gray ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2001–2025
    #2,269
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2008–2023
    #728
    in 2023
  • Canada
    1992–2024
    #1,459
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1954–1971
    #512
    in 1971

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Gray

People whose public names include Gray, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Gray in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Gray. Linked forms have their own page here.

GraeGrey

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Gray by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,418
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 181
Best rank ever
#838
1889
Peak year
2023
175 that year
First recorded
1885
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,166
Count in 2025
128

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#5,613
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 1,755
Best rank ever
#2,983
1913
Peak year
2014
47 that year
First recorded
1912
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
676
Count in 2025
22

Names similar to Gray

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

GraceGraemeGraysenTrayGraydonGrahmGracenGradyGraydenGrangerBrayGraigGraeGranvilleGraftonGramGrahamGrantGraesonMurrayWrayGrabielGraycenYeray

Names with a curve like Gray

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Gray, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

GentryHenriLeightonMontgomeryMendelAnselEphraimMayerMerrickLazarusElamEllison

Sibling names for Gray

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Gray

Top names of 2023, Gray's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 1889Boys' names starting with GColor-Inspired Names