Grey Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Grey Name Meaning: Thought to have derived from the Anglo Saxon word 'graeg' meaning 'grey'. May have also been taken from the place name 'Graye' in France.

An Anglo-Saxon nickname which referred to someone with grey coloured hair. May have also been taken from the place name 'graye' in France for someone who lived there.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Grey Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Grey family

Profession Census Frequency
School 497
Private Means 53
Coal Miner Hewer 45
General Servant (domestic) 43
Domestic Servant 40
General Labourer 37
Clerk 31
Farm Labourer 30
Dressmaker 29
Labourer 27
At School 22
None 22
Charwoman 17
General Servant Domestic 16
At Home 15
No Occupation 15
Student 15
Farmer 15
Cook (domestic) 14
Dock Labourer 14
Dress Maker 14
Housekeeper 14
Laundress 13
Old Age Pensioner 13
House Keeper 13

Grey Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Gray 75% 210,083
2 Grey 100% 43,115
3 Geary 40% 15,928
4 Gary 50% 1,867
5 Garey 80% 1,488
6 Gorey 80% 1,122
7 Gury 50% 1,007
8 Gearey 67% 621
9 Gery 50% 461
10 Greey 80% 212
11 Groy 75% 204
12 Gory 50% 200
13 Greay 80% 190
14 Gry 75% 123
15 Geory 40% 107

Did you know?

The surname Grey is the 2nd most popular variant of Gray.

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