Grayson
Grayson was the 51st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 5,805 babies. Its best year was 2018, when it ranked 32nd; the most babies were born in 2017 (8,718). Over the last ten years it has moved down 4 places. More babies were named Grayson in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning son of the steward (surname) · English
Say it GRAY-suhn /ˈɡreɪsən/
- Rank in 2025
- #51 boys, down 16 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 5,805boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20178,718 babies
- Total since 1880
- 133,184babies recorded
What does the name Grayson mean?
Grayson is an English surname used as a first name. Wiktionary derives it from Middle English greyve, a steward or reeve, plus -son, so it first named the son of an estate official. Wikipedia's surname article notes other proposed sources, including an English variant of Gravesson and anglicized forms linked to the Scottish surnames Grierson and Gray. Its sound is often linked with the color word gray, but that is a modern association, not the derivation. As a given name it is modern and largely American.
greyve (Middle English, “steward, reeve”)-son (Middle English, “son of”)
How sure is this? Probable. The 'steward's son' derivation is the usual one, but the surname may have more than one source (Gravesson, Grierson, Gray).
Other explanations you may read: Means 'gray-haired person's son'.
Related names: Greyson, Grason.
See also: English names, names from occupations.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Grayson', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Grayson (surname)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Grayson
The usual nicknames for Grayson are Gray. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Grayson in the last five years, 2 were named Gray, against 5 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gray | Modern | #1,418 | 776 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Graysons go by each one.
Grayson popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 4,190 since 1961, 52 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #51 | 5,805 |
| 2020 | #35 | 7,487 |
| 2010 | #122 | 3,359 |
| 2000 | #313 | 926 |
| 1990 | #670 | 228 |
| 1980 | #1,092 | 69 |
| 1970 | #1,241 | 45 |
| 1960 | #1,327 | 36 |
| 1950 | #1,352 | 29 |
| 1940 | #1,707 | 17 |
| 1930 | #1,920 | 16 |
| 1920 | #1,401 | 28 |
| 1910 | #1,688 | 5 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Grayson, counting every spelling?
Grayson is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #54 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #51 for Grayson on its own. Together these spellings went to 5,976 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grayson | 5,805 | #51 | 33,259 |
| Graysen | 132 | #1,390 | 941 |
| Graeson | 10 | #7,853 | 137 |
| Graison | 10 | #7,856 | 73 |
| Graesyn | 7 | #10,036 | 63 |
| Graysyn | 12 | #6,936 | 63 |
| Graysin | — | — | 39 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Grayson?
5,805 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Grayson (1.61 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Grayson born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 33. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 1 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Grayson.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Grayson?
About 126,800 people born in the US named Grayson are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 5 and 14. That makes Grayson a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Grayson by state
How common Grayson was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wyoming (3.0×), West Virginia (2.9×), Vermont (2.4×), Maine (2.2×), Kentucky (2.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, District of Columbia, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Grayson: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Grayson, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Grayson · Sibling names for Grayson
Questions about the name Grayson
What does Grayson mean?
Grayson means “son of the steward (surname)” (English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Grayson?
Grayson was the 51st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 5,805 babies. Its best year was 2018, when it ranked 32nd; the most babies were born in 2017 (8,718). Over the last ten years it has moved down 4 places. More babies were named Grayson in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Grayson a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Grayson in the US.
Where is Grayson most popular?
In 2021–2025, Grayson was most common in Wyoming (11.41 per 1,000 boys), followed by West Virginia and Vermont.