Dray
An English masculine name derived from the surname Dray, meaning "to drag".
Name Census estimates that about 293 living Americans carry the first name Dray. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dray today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dray births was 1993 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dray. 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
293
~ 1 in 1,169,810 Americans
Peak year
1993
18 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,248
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Dray: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dray from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 90 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Dray remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dray 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 Dray 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 Dray
The name Dray finds its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon era around the 5th to 11th centuries CE. It is derived from the Old English word "dræge," which means "to draw" or "to haul," indicating a connection to occupations involving the transportation of goods or materials.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Dray can be found in ancient Anglo-Saxon chronicles and documents from the medieval period in England. One notable historical reference is found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive land survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in entries related to individuals involved in transportation and trade activities.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the name Dray was relatively uncommon but still present in various parts of England and other regions influenced by Anglo-Saxon culture. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Dray Wilkins, a merchant and trader who lived in the city of York during the 13th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name gained some prominence in certain regions of England, particularly in the rural areas where agriculture and transportation played a significant role. One notable figure from this time period was Dray Hawkins (1543-1621), a farmer and landowner from Oxfordshire who was known for his innovative farming techniques.
As the Industrial Revolution took hold in the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Dray became associated with occupations related to the transportation of goods and materials in urban areas. Dray Cartwright (1785-1860), a prominent wagon-maker and manufacturer from Birmingham, was a well-known individual with this name during this era.
Moving into the 20th century, the name Dray continued to have a presence, albeit relatively uncommon. One notable figure was Dray Stevenson (1902-1976), a Scottish poet and writer who gained recognition for his works exploring themes of rural life and the natural world.
Other individuals with the first name Dray who left a mark in various fields include Dray Gillespie (1918-2008), an American jazz drummer and bandleader; Dray Whitmore (1924-2012), a British artist known for his Abstract Expressionist paintings; and Dray Benson (1939-2005), a Canadian scientist and environmentalist who made significant contributions to the study of ecological systems.
People
Dray + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dray as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dray: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dray?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 293 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dray 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 1,169,810 US residents.
Is Dray a common name?
We classify Dray as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 299 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dray most popular?
The single biggest year for Dray was 1993, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dray is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dray a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dray 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.
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.