Find out how popular the last name Gray is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Gray.

Gray, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Gray surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gray in America

Gray is the 87th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gray surname appeared 246,116 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 83 people would have the surname Gray.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gray to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Gray

The surname Gray is an Anglo-Saxon name that originated in England. It is derived from the Old English word "graeg," which means "gray" or "grey." The name likely referred to someone with gray hair or a person who wore gray clothing.

Gray is a locational surname, meaning it may have originated from a place name. One possible place of origin is the village of Gray in Northumberland, England. The name was first recorded in this area in the 13th century.

The surname Gray can also be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as "Graeus" and "Graus." This suggests that the name was well-established in England before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gray is found in the Pipe Rolls of Northumberland in 1195, where a man named William Gray is mentioned. Another early record is from the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, which lists a person named Richard le Gray.

The Gray surname has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the most prominent was Sir Thomas Gray (c. 1369-1415), an English nobleman who served as a soldier and diplomat during the Hundred Years' War.

Another notable individual was Walter de Gray (c. 1085-1155), an English churchman who served as Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England under King Henry II.

In the literary world, Thomas Gray (1716-1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, and scholar, best known for his poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."

The Gray family also played a significant role in American history. Samuel Gray (1696-1768) was a prominent merchant and politician in Massachusetts during the colonial era.

Edgar Gray (1908-1988) was an American anthropologist and archaeologist who made significant contributions to the study of Native American cultures in the southwestern United States.

The surname Gray has undergone various spellings throughout history, including Graye, Greye, Graye, and Grai. It is also found in various place names, such as Grayshott in Hampshire, England, and Grays in Essex, England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gray

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Gray.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Gray was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Gray has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Gray was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gray, please contact us.

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