Greyson
Son of the grey-haired one or from the grey town.
Name Census estimates that about 58,091 living Americans carry the first name Greyson. It sits at #127 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Greyson today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Greyson births was 2017 (4,888 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Greyson. 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 Greyson with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Greyson is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 793 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Greyson is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
58K
~ 1 in 5,900 Americans
Peak year
2017
4,888 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#127
Tracked since 1965
Census
Greyson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 36,523 people with the first name Greyson, which placed it at #1,121 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
#1,121
National first-name rank
People counted
37K
36,523 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
12.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Greyson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Greyson is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Greyson 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 Greyson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.1% · 27,046
- Hispanic or Latino10.6% · 3,883
- Two or more races7.9% · 2,887
- Black or African American4.8% · 1,765
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 660
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 282
Gender
Gender distribution for Greyson
Greyson leans heavily male at 98.6% of total registrations, but 793 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Greyson as a male name
- Ranked #127 in 2024
- 2,868 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (4,848 births)
Greyson as a female name
- Ranked #7,706 in 2024
- 14 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (56 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Greyson leans strongly male. 35,852 people counted with this name were male (98.2%), compared with 670 female bearers (1.8%).
Popularity
Greyson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Greyson from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 33,585 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Greyson remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Greyson 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 Greyson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Greysons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Greyson, while District of Columbia, Wyoming, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,109 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Greyson
The name Greyson is a relatively modern English name that emerged in the late 20th century. It is a compound name derived from the English words "grey" and "son." The name's origin can be traced back to the Old English word "grǣg," meaning "gray" or "grey."
While the name itself is a recent invention, the word "grey" has a long history dating back to the Proto-Germanic language. The word "grǣg" was derived from the Proto-Germanic root "*grisja-," which meant "gray-haired" or "venerable."
There are no known historical references to the name Greyson in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to its modern usage. However, the name's components, "grey" and "son," have been used separately in various contexts throughout history.
The earliest recorded use of the name Greyson is relatively recent. It first appeared in the late 20th century, likely as a result of the growing popularity of unique and creative baby names in English-speaking countries.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Greyson was Greyson Michael Chance, an American singer and songwriter born in 2007. He gained fame after his performance of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" went viral on YouTube in 2010.
Another notable figure was Greyson Fletcher, an American actor born in 1990. He is best known for his roles in television shows like "The Vampire Diaries" and "Dolly Parton's Heartstrings."
Greyson Sigg, an American professional golfer born in 1995, is another individual who has gained recognition with this name.
Greyson Chance, an American singer and songwriter born in 1997, is also a prominent figure associated with the name.
Lastly, Greyson Michael Chance, an American singer and songwriter born in 2007, is one of the most recent notable individuals to bear the name Greyson.
While the name Greyson is a modern creation, its components have a rich linguistic history. Its popularity has grown significantly in recent decades, and it has been associated with various notable individuals across various fields.
People
Greyson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Greyson 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
Greyson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Greyson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 58,091 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Greyson 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 5,900 US residents.
Is Greyson a common name?
We classify Greyson as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 58,563 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Greyson most popular?
The single biggest year for Greyson was 2017, when 4,888 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Greyson is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Greyson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 36,523 people with the name Greyson, or 12.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,121 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 Greyson 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 Greyson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Greyson leans strongly male. 35,852 people counted with this name were male (98.2%), compared with 670 female bearers (1.8%). 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 Greyson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Greyson is White at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Greyson most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Greyson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.1% (27,046 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 Greyson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Greyson a male name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Greyson 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 Greyson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Greyson 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 Greyson 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 Greyson?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Greyson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.