Graylen
A name of uncertain origin, potentially derived from "gray" or "glen".
Name Census estimates that about 264 living Americans carry the first name Graylen. It is a predominantly male name (90.4% of registrations). The average person named Graylen today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Graylen births was 2023 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Graylen. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
264
~ 1 in 1,298,312 Americans
Peak year
2023
34 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,619
Tracked since 1956
Census
Graylen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 210 people with the first name Graylen, which placed it at #37,260 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#37,260
National first-name rank
People counted
210
210 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Graylen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Graylen is White at 54.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.9%) and Hispanic (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Graylen described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Graylen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.8% · 115
- Black or African American32.9% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 14
- Two or more races4.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Graylen
Graylen leans heavily male at 90.4% of total registrations, but 26 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Graylen as a male name
- Ranked #3,619 in 2024
- 31 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (34 births)
Graylen as a female name
- Ranked #11,465 in 2021
- 8 female births in 2021
- Peak: 2021 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Graylen leans strongly male. 179 people counted with this name were male (84.0%), compared with 34 female bearers (16.0%).
Popularity
Graylen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Graylen from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 135 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Graylen by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Graylen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Graylens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Graylen
The name Graylen is a relatively modern invention, blending the English words "gray" and "len". It does not have a clear origin in any particular language or culture, but rather appears to be a creative combination of existing words and sounds.
The earliest recorded use of the name Graylen seems to date back to the late 20th century, possibly inspired by the growing popularity of unique and unconventional baby names around that time. Despite its modern origins, the name carries a certain timeless quality, with the "gray" element evoking a sense of maturity and wisdom, while the "len" part lends a softer, more melodic touch.
While there are no documented historical figures or famous individuals from ancient times bearing the name Graylen, a few notable personalities in more recent history have carried this uncommon moniker. One such person is Graylen Dail, an American mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler, born in 1987.
Another individual named Graylen is Graylen Cameron, a Canadian actor and model who has appeared in various television shows and films since the early 2000s. Though not widely known, his presence in the entertainment industry has helped to introduce the name to a broader audience.
In the world of literature, there is a character named Graylen in the fantasy novel series "The Foxhole Court" by Nora Sakavic, published in the 2010s. While a fictional character, this inclusion has likely contributed to the name's recognition among certain readers and fans of the genre.
Beyond these examples, the name Graylen remains relatively rare, with no major historical figures or celebrities bearing it throughout the centuries. Its unique sound and modern origins make it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name that stands out from more traditional options.
People
Graylen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Graylen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Graylen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Graylen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 264 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Graylen going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,298,312 US residents.
Is Graylen a common name?
We classify Graylen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 272 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Graylen most popular?
The single biggest year for Graylen was 2023, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Graylen is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Graylen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 210 people with the name Graylen, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,260 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Graylen in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Graylen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Graylen leans strongly male. 179 people counted with this name were male (84.0%), compared with 34 female bearers (16.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Graylen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Graylen is White at 54.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.9%) and Hispanic (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Graylen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Graylen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.8% (115 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Graylen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Graylen a male name?
Yes, 90.4% of people registered as Graylen in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Graylen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Graylen in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Graylen can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Graylen?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.