Gray Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Gray Name Meaning: From the nickname for someone with gray hair or a gray beard.

From the Old English \"graeg\", meaning \"gray\", this was used as a nickname for someone with gray hair or a gray beard. The distinction between the spellings (British \"grey\" and US \"gray\") developed in the 20th Century.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Gray Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Gray family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 2,219
Agricultural Labourer 798
House Servant 355
Labourer 276
At Home 203
Servant 171
Farm Labourer 152
Dress Maker 149
Coal Miner 144
Pauper 96
Annuitant 89
Laundress 86
General Servant 85
House Keeper 77
Tailor 77
Carpenter 76
Scholar At Home 68
Shoe Maker 67
Blacksmith 66
Errand Boy 65
Gardener 59
Farm Servant 51
Mariner 45
Sawyer 38
Lace Maker 38

Gray Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Gray 100% 210,083
2 Grey 75% 43,115
3 Geary 60% 15,928
4 Gary 50% 1,867
5 Garey 60% 1,488
6 Gorey 60% 1,122
7 Gury 50% 1,007
8 Gearey 50% 621
9 Gery 50% 461
10 Greey 60% 212
11 Groy 75% 204
12 Gory 50% 200
13 Greay 80% 190
14 Gry 75% 123
15 Geory 40% 107

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The surname Gray is the most popular version of all its varients

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