Grey
A gender-neutral name derived from the color grey.
Name Census estimates that about 6,593 living Americans carry the first name Grey. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Grey today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Grey births was 2021 (445 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Grey. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Grey with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Grey is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
6.6K
~ 1 in 51,988 Americans
Peak year
2021
445 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#876
Tracked since 1913
Census
Grey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,448 people with the first name Grey, which placed it at #3,717 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
#3,717
National first-name rank
People counted
5.4K
5,448 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Grey is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Grey 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 Grey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.0% · 4,029
- Hispanic or Latino12.2% · 665
- Two or more races6.7% · 365
- Black or African American4.7% · 256
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 48
Gender
Gender distribution for Grey
Grey leans heavily male at 85.1% of total registrations, but 1,021 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Grey as a male name
- Ranked #876 in 2024
- 274 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (362 births)
Grey as a female name
- Ranked #3,085 in 2024
- 52 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (83 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Grey leans strongly male. 4,366 people counted with this name were male (80.1%), compared with 1,087 female bearers (19.9%).
Popularity
Grey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Grey from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,973 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Grey remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Grey 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 Grey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Greys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Grey, while Nebraska, Montana, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 98 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Grey
The name Grey has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "grǣg," which means "gray" or "grey." This name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD. It was initially used as a descriptive name, referring to someone with gray hair or a grayish complexion.
In early English literature, the name Grey is mentioned in various texts, including the famous epic poem "Beowulf," which dates back to the 7th or 8th century. The name also appears in several historical records and chronicles from the Middle Ages, indicating its usage among the English nobility and gentry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Grey can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions several individuals bearing the name Grey, suggesting its widespread use at the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Grey. One of the most famous is John Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville (1559-1611), an English courtier and soldier who served under Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Another prominent figure is Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1517-1554), who played a significant role in the English Reformation and was briefly proclaimed King of England during the turbulent years of the mid-16th century.
In the literary world, the name Grey is associated with Thomas Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Wilton (1359-1417), an English poet and courtier known for his poem "Scalacronica," a chronicle of English history. Additionally, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845), a British statesman and Prime Minister, lent his name to the famous Earl Grey tea blend.
Another historical figure worth mentioning is Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554), who briefly reigned as Queen of England for nine days in 1553 before being deposed and executed. Her tragic story has been the subject of numerous literary works and has kept her name alive throughout the centuries.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have borne the name Grey throughout history, highlighting its longstanding presence and significance in various contexts.
People
Grey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Grey 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
Grey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Grey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,593 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Grey 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 51,988 US residents.
Is Grey a common name?
We classify Grey as "Rare". It ranks above 97.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,853 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Grey most popular?
The single biggest year for Grey was 2021, when 445 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Grey is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Grey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,448 people with the name Grey, or 1.80 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,717 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 Grey 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 Grey?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Grey leans strongly male. 4,366 people counted with this name were male (80.1%), compared with 1,087 female bearers (19.9%). 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 Grey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Grey is White at 74.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Grey most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Grey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.0% (4,029 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 Grey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Grey a male name?
Yes, 85.1% of people registered as Grey 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 Grey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Grey 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 Grey 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 have Grey as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Grey on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.