Cray
Meaning "reddish brown" from a Middle English word for hair color.
Name Census estimates that about 108 living Americans carry the first name Cray. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cray today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cray births was 1993 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cray. 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
108
~ 1 in 3,173,651 Americans
Peak year
1993
9 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2011 SSA rank
#8,920
Tracked since 1962
Census
Cray in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 257 people with the first name Cray, which placed it at #32,623 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
#32,623
National first-name rank
People counted
257
257 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cray
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cray is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Cray 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 Cray at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.0% · 185
- Black or African American11.3% · 29
- Two or more races5.1% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 8
Popularity
Cray: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cray from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 46 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cray 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 Cray during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cray
The given name Cray is believed to have originated from the Old English word "cræg," which means "rock" or "crag." It is thought to have been a descriptive name given to someone who lived near a rocky area or prominent rock formation. The name can also be traced back to the medieval era, when it was more commonly spelled as "Cræg" or "Craeg."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cray can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions a landowner named "Cræg" who held property in the county of Somerset. This suggests that the name was already in use in Britain during the 11th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Cray appeared sporadically in various historical records and documents. A notable bearer of the name was Sir Cray de Vere, a Knight Templar who fought in the Crusades during the 12th century. He is mentioned in several chronicles and accounts of the time for his bravery and exploits in the Holy Land.
In the 15th century, a German monk named Cray Heidegger gained recognition for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy. He was born in 1420 in the town of Nuremberg and spent much of his life traveling and teaching at various monasteries across Europe.
During the Renaissance period, Cray Montague was an English poet and playwright who lived from 1552 to 1618. While his works are relatively obscure today, he was celebrated in his time for his lyrical verse and creative use of language.
In more recent history, Cray Ewing was a prominent American architect who lived from 1876 to 1954. He is best known for designing several iconic buildings in New York City, including the Chrysler Building and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. His innovative Art Deco style left a lasting impact on the city's skyline.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the given name Cray. While it may not be a particularly common name today, its origins and historical references demonstrate its long-standing presence in various cultures and eras.
People
Cray + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cray as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cray: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cray?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 108 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cray 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 3,173,651 US residents.
Is Cray a common name?
We classify Cray as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 111 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cray most popular?
The single biggest year for Cray was 1993, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cray is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cray in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 257 people with the name Cray, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,623 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 Cray 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 Cray?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cray leans strongly male. 240 people counted with this name were male (92.0%), compared with 21 female bearers (8.0%). 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 Cray?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cray is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Cray most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cray in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.0% (185 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 Cray in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cray a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cray 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 Cray still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cray 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 Cray 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 common is the name Cray?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Cray at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.