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Gray

OriginColor name, also diminutive of Grayson
Meaning"the son of the bailiff"

About Gray

The girls have Violet and Scarlet and Ruby and Rose, but for the boys there's a much more limited palette of color names. Gray (or Grey), is one exception, which could make for a soft and evocative--if slightly somber-- choice, especially in the middle. Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney recently named their son Leo Grey.

A common surname, Gray/Grey is still an unusual first name choice--it hasn't made it into the Top 1000 in this century--while longer forms Grayson and Greyson are climbing rapidly, with Grayson at Number 97, and his twin at 200.

The best known bearer of the name, former Governor Gray Davis of California, was born Joseph Graham Davis, Jr, and others with Gray names include Graydon Carter (born Edward Graydon), editor of "Vanity Fair," and Grayer, the child in "The Nanny Diaries."

Pronounced GRAY.

As of October 2026, Gray ranked #1418 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #838 in 1889, Nameberry popularity #971.

Editor's take: The name Gray is a boy's name of English origin.

World rankings

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Gray on lists

Famous Grays

  • Gray Davis

    former governor of California

  • Matthew Gray Gubler

    American actor

  • Terius Gray

    American rapper

  • Matthew Gray Nelson

    musician and twin son of actor/musician Ricky Nelson

  • Josh Gray

    member of Irish boyband HomeTown

  • Lee Seunghwa “Gray”

    member of Korean record label AOMG

  • Conan Gray

    American Singer and YouTuber

Gray in pop culture

  • Gray Grantham

    a lead character in "The Pelican Brief"

  • Gray Fullbuster

    character in the anime "Fairy Tail"

  • Gray Mitchell

    boy character in "Jurassic World"

  • Gray

    character from the 'Harvest Moon' games

  • Gray Wing

    character from the book series "Warriors" by Erin Hunter

  • Graystripe

    character from the book series "Warriors" by Erin Hunter

Variations & nicknames

Gray in blog posts

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