2000
#2,054
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,158
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.99
Uncommon Last name
Grayson
Son of a steward or bailiff, derived from the Middle English word "greyve" meaning a person in charge of property.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,721 Americans carry the last name Grayson. That puts it at #2,166 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,309 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grayson surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Grayson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,309
Census rank
#2,166
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,326 bearers of the surname Grayson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2166th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grayson, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (41.2%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grayson
Among Census respondents with the surname Grayson, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (41.2%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Grayson bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Grayson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.2% · 7,866
- Black or African American41.2% · 6,726
- Two or more races5.6% · 921
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 546
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 171
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 96
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grayson
Grayson appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,138
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,946
+788 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 5.74
Rank movement Down 84 places
2020
#2,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,326
-620 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 5.46
Rank movement Down 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,054 | 16,158 | 5.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,138 | 16,946 | 5.74 | +788 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 84 places |
| 2020 | #2,166 | 16,326 | 5.46 | -620 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 28 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Grayson surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,138 | #2,166 | -1.3% |
| Count | 16,946 | 16,326 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 5.74 | 5.46 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grayson bearers went from 16,946 to 16,326 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,138 to #2,166.
FAQ
Grayson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grayson?
Name Census estimates that about 18,721 living Americans carry the surname Grayson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,309 residents.
How common is Grayson?
Grayson ranks #2,166 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,326 people with the surname Grayson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,721), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Grayson.
Has Grayson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grayson went from 16,946 recorded bearers to 16,326. That is a decrease of 620 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,138 to #2,166.
What does the Census say about the background of Grayson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grayson, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (41.2%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Grayson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.2% (7,866 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grayson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.2%), Black (41.2%), Two or More Races (5.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Grayson (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Grayson mean?
Son of a steward or bailiff, derived from the Middle English word "greyve" meaning a person in charge of property. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Grayson (5.46 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Grayson?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Grayson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.