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 5,637
Agricultural Labourer 645
Coal Miner 353
General Labourer 298
Labourer 265
Domestic Servant 264
Dress Maker 251
General Servant 231
Annuitant 138
Laundress 138
Farm Labourer 131
Carpenter 116
General Servant Domestic 92
Charwoman 81
Joiner 79
Gardener 78
Cotton Weaver 73
House Keeper 71
Tailor 71
No Occupation 59
Shoe Maker 58
Bricklayer 56
Painter 56
Blacksmith 55
Clerk 53

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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