Head to head · Boys' names
George vs Greyson
#126 vs #149 in 2025
George is a whisker ahead (#126 vs #149 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: George is holding its place on the charts, Greyson is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, George leads 6 measures of 6; Greyson leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: George #4, Greyson — — George higher
- 1890s: George #4, Greyson — — George higher
- 1900s: George #4, Greyson — — George higher
- 1910s: George #6, Greyson — — George higher
- 1920s: George #7, Greyson — — George higher
- 1930s: George #9, Greyson — — George higher
- 1940s: George #15, Greyson — — George higher
- 1950s: George #26, Greyson — — George higher
- 1960s: George #34, Greyson #3801 — George higher
- 1970s: George #50, Greyson #4272 — George higher
- 1980s: George #70, Greyson #3092 — George higher
- 1990s: George #108, Greyson #1120 — George higher
- 2000s: George #143, Greyson #562 — George higher
- 2010s: George #142, Greyson #135 — Greyson higher
- 2020s: George #132, Greyson #109 — Greyson higher
George stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Greyson has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | George | Greyson |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #4 | — |
| 1890s | #4 | — |
| 1900s | #4 | — |
| 1910s | #6 | — |
| 1920s | #7 | — |
| 1930s | #9 | — |
| 1940s | #15 | — |
| 1950s | #26 | — |
| 1960s | #34 | #3801 |
| 1970s | #50 | #4272 |
| 1980s | #70 | #3092 |
| 1990s | #108 | #1120 |
| 2000s | #143 | #562 |
| 2010s | #142 | #135 |
| 2020s | #132 | #109 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
George
- England & Wales#6
- Scotland#50
- Canada#92
Greyson
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
George
farmer, one who works the earth
From Greek geōrgos, a compound of gē 'earth' and ergon 'work'.
Geōrgos → Georgios → Georgius → Georges → George
How it traveled
The Greek name Georgios was borne by a soldier martyred in the eastern Roman Empire in the early fourth century — Saint George, whose cult spread through Byzantium and reached western Europe with the Crusades, dragon and all. England adopted him as patron saint in the later Middle Ages, but the given name stayed surprisingly uncommon there until the Hanoverian succession of 1714 put a George on the throne, followed by five more.
Greyson
son of the steward, or son of Gray
The main reading traces the surname to Middle English greyve, a steward or bailiff who managed land for a lord — so 'son of the greyve'. A second reading takes it simply as 'son of Gray', from the older surname Gray. Both are serious; reference works differ on which came first, and in some families both roads may have ended at the same spelling.
greyve (Middle English: steward, bailiff) → Grayson (English surname) → Grayson (given name) → Greyson
How it traveled
The surname belongs to northern England, where greyve — a steward or overseer — was a working title long before it was anybody's name. Patronymic surnames of that kind (son of the greyve, son of Gray) settled into hereditary use in the late medieval period, and crossed the Atlantic with ordinary families rather than famous ones.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
George
JORJ
One syllable, both g's soft. The French Georges (ZHORZH) and Spanish Jorge (HOR-hay) are the same name pronounced by their own rules.
- Georgie — The main informal short form in English, used for children and within families; sometimes kept for life.
- Geo — A clipped, casual form, mostly written — in texts, signatures and nicknames among friends.
- Dod — A traditional Scottish pet form of George, still heard in Scotland and generally unfamiliar elsewhere.
- Gee — An initial-based nickname, informal and usually family-only.
Greyson
GRAY-sun
Two syllables, stress on the first, identical in sound to Grayson. The ey spelling never changes how it is said.
- Grey — The standard short form, and a given name in its own right for both boys and girls.
- Greys — Informal, mostly among friends and teammates.
- G — Casual initial-only nickname, common in American schools and sports.
Who has carried each name
George
George Washington (b. 1732) — First president of the United States
George Clooney (b. 1961) — Ocean's Eleven star with two Oscars
George Orwell (b. 1903) — Wrote 1984 and Animal Farm
Greyson
Greyson Chance (b. 1997) — YouTube piano prodigy turned pop artist
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose George if you want…
- a name most people already know#126 in 2025, 2,848 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 6 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesGeorge is 1 syllable to Greyson's 2
- a name that charts abroad tooGeorge is on the national lists of England & Wales, Scotland and Canada
Choose Greyson if you want…
- a name fewer children share#149 in 2025 — greyson will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsGreyson is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itGreyson runs 2 syllables, George 1
- a newer arrivalGreyson entered the US charts in 1965
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
George
Strengths
- Spelled one way and recognized on sight — almost nobody has to ask how to write it.
- Charts in England and Wales, Scotland and Canada as well as the US, so it travels without translation.
- An unbroken record from the early Christian centuries through the English kings to now.
To consider
- It is strongly represented among older generations in the US, and some people will hear it as a grandfather's name before they hear it as a baby's. That impression is fading, but it hasn't gone.
- The name arrives with a lot of company: presidents, kings, a famous cartoon monkey. Expect the occasional joke and the occasional assumption about who he was named for.
- In England and Wales it is far more common than in the US, so British relatives may find it ordinary while American classmates find it distinctive.
Greyson
Strengths
- Pronounced correctly on sight by almost any English speaker — the ey spelling does not change the sound.
- Has a ready short form in Grey, which also works as a standalone name on adult documents.
- Sits inside a family of names Americans already know well — Grayson, Bryson, Mason — so it needs no explaining.
To consider
- Grayson with an a is the more common spelling in the US, so expect a lifetime of gentle correcting — on forms, in emails, at the coffee counter. Worth deciding now whether that trade is one you want.
- The name's wave is very recent, so it reads clearly as a name of the current generation of children rather than a family heirloom. That also means very few adult Greysons to point to.
- It sounds close to several popular classmates' names — Bryson, Mason, Jackson — and can blur in a noisy room even while remaining the only Greyson on the roster.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
George
12%chance George feels dated by 2040
George has held the top-100 across 11 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Greyson
70%chance Greyson feels dated by 2040
Greyson is coming down from a big peak (#77 in 2018). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear George and Greyson in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between George and Greyson?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both George and Greyson — the same style, ranked by the same records.
George or Greyson — the short answers
- Which is more popular, George or Greyson?
- George, in 2025: George ranked #126 with 2,848 babies; Greyson ranked #149 with 2,439 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, George or Greyson?
- George. Over the last five years George moved up 6 places; Greyson moved down 68 places.
- Which is the older name, George or Greyson?
- George was already in use when US records began in 1880; Greyson entered the US charts in 1965. On the American record, George is the older name.
- How many people are named George and Greyson?
- About 571,000 people named George are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 59,500 people named Greyson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Georges or Greysons in the classroom?
- George will almost certainly be the only one in school. Greyson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up George, Greyson and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap