Meaning not yet researched.
Gray: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 128 in 2025. Its best rank was #838 in 1889.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #838 in 1889; #1,418 in 2025. About 85% of babies named Gray in 2025 were boys.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#1,418 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1889, at #838.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Gray: US boys and girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 128 boys in 2025. Peak: #838 in 1889 · most boys in one year: 175 (2023).
In 2025, 128 US boys were named Gray, making it the 1,418th most common boys’ name of the year, down 73 places from #1,345 in 2024. That is 14 fewer than the 142 boys named Gray in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #838, reached in 1889. The most boys given the name in a single year was 175, in 2023. For comparison, it was #1,275 in 2015 and #1,409 in 1950.
In 2025, 22 US girls were named Gray, making it the 5,614th most common girls’ name of the year, down 410 places from #5,204 in 2024. That is 3 fewer than the 25 girls named Gray in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #2,985, reached in 1913. The most girls given the name in a single year was 47, in 2014. For comparison, it was #3,500 in 2015 and #5,592 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Gray in 127 years of the 146 from 1880 to 2025, starting in 1885 with 5 babies. In all, 5,842 US babies have been given the name, 12% of them girls and 88% boys. Its busiest decade was the 2010s, with 1,630 babies named Gray.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 1,520 US boys were named Gray; the busiest of those years was 2023, with 175. In 2025 that was about 1 in 13,344 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Gray ranked highest in Alabama in 2025, at #645 for boys there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Grey (7,108 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Graye and Grai are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in English. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Graye (33), Grai (10).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Gray in the open dataset we use.
Gray is listed as a nickname for Grayson.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US boys. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five boys got the name, so 41 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 7 | #645 | — |
| Tennessee | 11 | #652 | #698 |
| South Carolina | 6 | #693 | #691 |
| Missouri | 7 | #742 | — |
| North Carolina | 7 | #1,073 | #788 |
| Virginia | 5 | #1,146 | — |
| Georgia | 6 | #1,267 | #1,038 |
| Texas | 13 | #1,433 | #1,314 |
| Florida | 6 | #1,702 | #1,216 |
| California | 7 | #2,059 | #2,117 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22 | #5,614 | 128 | #1,418 |
| 2024 | 25 | #5,204 | 142 | #1,345 |
| 2023 | 33 | #4,312 | 175 | #1,175 |
| 2022 | 41 | #3,730 | 164 | #1,209 |
| 2021 | 44 | #3,511 | 167 | #1,180 |
| 2020 | 37 | #3,859 | 151 | #1,237 |
| 2019 | 35 | #4,099 | 156 | #1,219 |
| 2018 | 39 | #3,808 | 148 | #1,246 |
| 2017 | 35 | #4,170 | 145 | #1,259 |
| 2016 | 44 | #3,546 | 144 | #1,270 |
| 2015 | 45 | #3,500 | 141 | #1,275 |
| 2014 | 47 | #3,387 | 127 | #1,353 |
| 2013 | 26 | #5,194 | 121 | #1,391 |
| 2012 | 17 | #7,245 | 120 | #1,394 |
| 2011 | 22 | #6,011 | 97 | #1,591 |
| 2010 | 24 | #5,681 | 97 | #1,618 |
| 2009 | 20 | #6,653 | 89 | #1,735 |
| 2008 | 17 | #7,526 | 77 | #1,881 |
| 2007 | 14 | #8,690 | 81 | #1,802 |
| 2006 | 11 | #10,149 | 70 | #1,927 |
| 2005 | 11 | #9,682 | 54 | #2,218 |
| 2004 | — | — | 54 | #2,171 |
| 2003 | — | — | 57 | #2,016 |
| 2002 | — | — | 46 | #2,268 |
| 2001 | 6 | #14,137 | 51 | #2,068 |
| 2000 | — | — | 39 | #2,452 |
| 1999 | — | — | 53 | #1,867 |
| 1998 | — | — | 38 | #2,325 |
| 1997 | — | — | 42 | #2,111 |
| 1996 | 5 | #14,278 | 56 | #1,695 |
| 1995 | — | — | 52 | #1,716 |
| 1994 | 7 | #10,960 | 57 | #1,620 |
| 1993 | — | — | 54 | #1,645 |
| 1992 | — | — | 29 | #2,487 |
| 1991 | — | — | 22 | #2,942 |
| 1990 | — | — | 30 | #2,334 |
| 1989 | — | — | 49 | #1,624 |
| 1988 | — | — | 28 | #2,214 |
| 1987 | 5 | #11,934 | 36 | #1,810 |
| 1986 | — | — | 21 | #2,549 |
| 1985 | — | — | 26 | #2,145 |
| 1984 | — | — | 29 | #1,908 |
| 1983 | — | — | 15 | #2,971 |
| 1982 | — | — | 19 | #2,540 |
| 1981 | — | — | 18 | #2,612 |
| 1980 | — | — | 17 | #2,768 |
| 1979 | — | — | 16 | #2,818 |
| 1978 | — | — | 20 | #2,313 |
| 1977 | — | — | 18 | #2,494 |
| 1976 | — | — | 9 | #3,827 |
| 1975 | — | — | 22 | #2,087 |
| 1974 | — | — | 19 | #2,224 |
| 1973 | — | — | 28 | #1,670 |
| 1972 | — | — | 23 | #1,888 |
| 1971 | — | — | 21 | #2,005 |
| 1970 | — | — | 27 | #1,673 |
| 1969 | — | — | 28 | #1,539 |
| 1968 | — | — | 28 | #1,486 |
| 1967 | — | — | 20 | #1,780 |
| 1966 | — | — | 27 | #1,491 |
| 1965 | — | — | 26 | #1,537 |
| 1964 | — | — | 29 | #1,474 |
| 1963 | — | — | 39 | #1,242 |
| 1962 | — | — | 49 | #1,097 |
| 1961 | — | — | 27 | #1,559 |
| 1960 | — | — | 33 | #1,386 |
| 1959 | — | — | 37 | #1,285 |
| 1958 | — | — | 42 | #1,194 |
| 1957 | — | — | 33 | #1,375 |
| 1956 | — | — | 39 | #1,222 |
| 1955 | — | — | 41 | #1,175 |
| 1954 | 6 | #5,366 | 30 | #1,393 |
| 1953 | — | — | 28 | #1,441 |
| 1952 | — | — | 32 | #1,331 |
| 1951 | — | — | 24 | #1,537 |
| 1950 | 5 | #5,592 | 27 | #1,409 |
| 1949 | — | — | 32 | #1,286 |
| 1948 | — | — | 23 | #1,534 |
| 1947 | — | — | 35 | #1,243 |
| 1946 | — | — | 25 | #1,422 |
| 1945 | — | — | 17 | #1,653 |
| 1944 | 5 | #4,822 | 21 | #1,501 |
| 1943 | — | — | 14 | #2,021 |
| 1942 | — | — | 24 | #1,438 |
| 1941 | — | — | 27 | #1,283 |
| 1940 | — | — | 11 | #2,234 |
| 1939 | — | — | 16 | #1,749 |
| 1938 | — | — | 15 | #1,852 |
| 1937 | — | — | 20 | #1,552 |
| 1936 | — | — | 13 | #1,996 |
| 1935 | 5 | #4,483 | 18 | #1,682 |
| 1934 | — | — | 19 | #1,634 |
| 1933 | — | — | 13 | #2,033 |
| 1932 | — | — | 15 | #1,950 |
| 1931 | — | — | 13 | #2,146 |
| 1930 | — | — | 16 | #1,919 |
| 1929 | — | — | 14 | #2,136 |
| 1928 | — | — | 14 | #2,205 |
| 1927 | — | — | 17 | #1,983 |
| 1926 | — | — | 18 | #1,862 |
| 1925 | — | — | 22 | #1,655 |
| 1924 | — | — | 22 | #1,697 |
| 1923 | — | — | 18 | #1,900 |
| 1922 | — | — | 20 | #1,787 |
| 1921 | 5 | #5,435 | 17 | #2,012 |
| 1920 | — | — | 33 | #1,263 |
| 1919 | 7 | #4,009 | 25 | #1,461 |
| 1918 | — | — | 17 | #1,941 |
| 1917 | — | — | 17 | #1,851 |
| 1916 | — | — | 13 | #2,197 |
| 1915 | — | — | 29 | #1,226 |
| 1914 | — | — | 12 | #1,909 |
| 1913 | 6 | #2,985 | 6 | #2,620 |
| 1912 | 5 | #3,165 | 14 | #1,303 |
| 1911 | — | — | 7 | #1,448 |
| 1909 | — | — | 5 | #1,552 |
| 1908 | — | — | 6 | #1,284 |
| 1906 | — | — | 5 | #1,315 |
| 1903 | — | — | 6 | #1,068 |
| 1901 | — | — | 6 | #990 |
| 1900 | — | — | 10 | #869 |
| 1899 | — | — | 5 | #1,110 |
| 1897 | — | — | 5 | #1,130 |
| 1895 | — | — | 5 | #1,152 |
| 1889 | — | — | 7 | #838 |
| 1887 | — | — | 5 | #985 |
| 1885 | — | — | 5 | #998 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).