Recorded 1885–2025 · United States
Gray was most popular in 2021, when 211 American babies were given the name — ranking #2,154 that year. In 2025 it ranked #2,693, with 150 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 5,842 people named Gray.
Gray first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1885, which makes it about 140 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 127 of the 141 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 5,842 American births named Gray between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 4,921 are estimated to be alive today.
150 American babies were named Gray in 2025, ranking #2,693 that year.
Gray is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 188 births a year, against 153 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +23% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Gray is mostly a boy’s name — 11.6% of the 5,842 Americans given it were girls and 88.4% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 19% girls and 81% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 4,921 Americans named Gray are alive today — 84% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 14 years old, and half are between 7 and 32.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Gray on the interactive charts
About · Privacy · Contact
Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org