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

Grayson, 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 Grayson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Grayson in America

Grayson is the 2138th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Grayson surname appeared 16,946 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Grayson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Grayson 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 Grayson

The surname Grayson is of English origin, derived from an old English locational name meaning "gray's son" or "son of the gray-haired man." It is believed to have originated in the late 11th or early 12th century, with the earliest recorded instances of the name found in various English counties, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the Grayson surname was William Grayson, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1199. Another early reference can be found in the Feet of Fines for Staffordshire in 1242, which mentions a John Grayzun.

The Grayson surname is thought to have been derived from the Old English words "græg" meaning "gray" and "sunu" meaning "son." It may have also been influenced by the Old French word "grison," which means "gray-haired."

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several references to places with similar names, such as Gresham and Grayswood, which may have contributed to the development of the Grayson surname.

Some notable individuals with the Grayson surname throughout history include William Grayson (1736-1790), an American statesman and one of the first two U.S. Senators from Virginia. Another prominent figure was Maurice Grayson (1892-1977), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

In literature, the Grayson name has also been notable, with Evelyn Grayson (1907-2003), an English novelist and children's writer, and Kathryn Grayson (1922-2010), an American actress and singer who starred in several MGM musicals in the 1940s and 1950s.

Additionally, the Grayson surname has been associated with several place names in England, such as Grayson in Lancashire and Grayson Gill in Yorkshire, further reinforcing its locational origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Grayson

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

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 Grayson 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 Grayson 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 Grayson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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