Gray is an English color name and surname from the Old English graeg, which simply means "gray"; as a surname it described someone with gray hair. Today it is often chosen as a short form of Grayson or as a sleek stand-alone name in the style of Reid and Hayes. In the United States Gray ranked number 2452 in 2000, has hovered between number 1175, its best rank in 2023, and number 1350 for a decade and stands at number 1418 in 2025.