Name of the Week

^.


Riding on the success of Harrison and Jenson,
new lively lad Grayson is one to watch.

 

Origin:

Grayson is a surname which literally means "son of the reeve" or "son of the "steward". A reeve, or steward, was an official with local jurisdiction under the king or a person in charge of property. The term reeve, itself, comes from the Old English gerefa "king's officer." Grayson however is specifically from the Middle English grayve which actually descends from the cognate Old Norse word greifi “a count, earl, steward.”

Usage:

Britain in 878 The Norse origin of Grayson (as opposed to the Anglo-Saxon) is easy to understand given that the surname traces its origins to Lancashire and Yorkshire: counties which were once part of the Viking region of Danelaw and therefore had a strong Norse influence. In the Domesday Book of 1086, we also find the Norse Griefi (Greue) used as a personal name in Lincolnshire. This most likely represents the occupational term for a steward being used as a byname. Later, in the 1130 Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire, there is record of a Turstin filius Greue "Turstin son of Greifi" and, in some forms, fillius Graive "son of the grayve" may have been a precursor to Grayson.  One of the earliest attestations of the surname is a Richard Grayveson in 1327 Wakefield, Yorkshire, which preserves the original spelling. In the same century, spellings from the Yorkshire Poll Taxes include Graiveson, Graveson an Grayfson.  The first example of the spelling Grayson dates from 1426 in the Register of the Freemen of the City of York.  Grayson came into use as an uncommon surname-firstname in the 18th century and had steady but low use — on average 5 births per decade — up to the mid-20th century. In the 1970s, Grayson was being used consistently each year for a handful of babies, but it was still far from common. For the most part, it was used for boys thought there were some instances of its use for girls. Grayson's recent popularity is thanks largely to American influence. In the US, surnames have long been fashionable as first names, and -son names in particular, such as Mason, Madison,  Jackson, Addison, Hudson and Carson have been popular for quite some time. These names, and other American surname-firstnames such as Carter, Hunter and Chase are now making waves on this side of the pond. Grayson currently ranks #73 in America and has been in the top 100 since 2011 and top 500 since 1995. In England and Wales, Grayson did not rank at all until 2005, when only 4 babies (#3208) were given the name. It has been on a steep upward inclide ever since.  Its first big jump was in 2010 when it went from #972 (27 births) to #503 (70 births). It broke into the top 500 the following year in 2011 at #392 (100 births). In 2013, Grayson ranked #231 with 224 births. Greyson ranked #882 (33 births) and Graysen ranked #3315 (5 births). In Scotland, Grayson is on a similar upward curve. It did not rank at all in 2005, 2006 or 2008, however it began to pick up in 2011 (#475: 5 births) moving up to #361 (9 births) in 2012 and #299 (13 births) in 2013.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Henry Joseph Grayson (1856–1918), British scientist. * Grayson Hall (1922–1985), American actress, formerly known as Shirley Grayson.  Contemporary: * Grayson Perry (b. 1960), British artist. Literature and Other Media: * Grayson Barrett, character in Robin Constantine's novel The Promise of Amazing. * Richard "Dick" Grayson, the civilian identity of the original Robin, and later Nightwing, in the DC comics.

Variants:

Greyson, Graysen, Graison, Grason

Pronunciation:

GRAY-sən [key]

Possible diminutives:

Gray, Gun, Sonny

Sibling Names:

Lyla     Harper     Darcey     Mila     Ayla     Skyla  Blake     Carter     Flynn     Rhys     Wyatt     Vaughn

Name Lists:

Lively Lads

 

If you like Grayson you may also like:   Jenson, Parker, Layton, Carson, Harrison, Logan, Keegan, Oakley, Brody, Hunter

 

Thanks to Holly for requesting this post.