The Grey surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,680 people carried this name — #2,845 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 23,300 people counted. That is up 3% from 12,338 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Grey surname
A surname transferred from the nickname, alternative spelling of Gray.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Grey» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 110 people named Grey.
14 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 20 départements, most often Côte-d’Or.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 92 people named Grey live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Córdoba.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
44 people named Grey have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 85 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 7 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Pomeranian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
37 people named Grey live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
33 people named Grey is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Grey in American newspapers,
1927.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 913,788 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Grey,
with a public archive behind them.
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Agnes Maria Melville Hamilton-Grey d. 1937 · writer
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Thomas Grey d. 1570 · politician
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William Grey d. 1551 · politician
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Thomas Grey d. 1559 · politician
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William Grey d. 1574 · politician
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Thomas Grey d. 1672 · politician
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Grey.
- Gresser 504 · U.S. census
- Greth 478 · U.S. census
- Grethen 100 · U.S. census
- Grether 605 · U.S. census
- Greulich 911 · U.S. census
- Greve 2,857 · U.S. census
- Griebel 1,371 · U.S. census
- Grieco 3,537 · U.S. census
- Grier 13,868 · U.S. census
- Gries 2,063 · U.S. census
- Griesbach 1,003 · U.S. census
- Grieshaber 815 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Grey is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.