Head to head · Boys' names
Grayson vs Logan
#51 vs #53 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Grayson is a whisker ahead (#51 vs #53 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, Logan leads 3 measures of 6; Grayson leads 2.
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: Grayson —, Logan #368 — Logan higher
- 1890s: Grayson —, Logan #518 — Logan higher
- 1900s: Grayson #1154, Logan #688 — Logan higher
- 1910s: Grayson #1440, Logan #710 — Logan higher
- 1920s: Grayson #1426, Logan #809 — Logan higher
- 1930s: Grayson #1580, Logan #931 — Logan higher
- 1940s: Grayson #1473, Logan #937 — Logan higher
- 1950s: Grayson #1569, Logan #1019 — Logan higher
- 1960s: Grayson #1508, Logan #1024 — Logan higher
- 1970s: Grayson #1427, Logan #828 — Logan higher
- 1980s: Grayson #939, Logan #221 — Logan higher
- 1990s: Grayson #496, Logan #65 — Logan higher
- 2000s: Grayson #256, Logan #25 — Logan higher
- 2010s: Grayson #63, Logan #15 — Logan higher
- 2020s: Grayson #42, Logan #35 — Logan higher
Logan stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Grayson | Logan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #368 |
| 1890s | — | #518 |
| 1900s | #1154 | #688 |
| 1910s | #1440 | #710 |
| 1920s | #1426 | #809 |
| 1930s | #1580 | #931 |
| 1940s | #1473 | #937 |
| 1950s | #1569 | #1019 |
| 1960s | #1508 | #1024 |
| 1970s | #1427 | #828 |
| 1980s | #939 | #221 |
| 1990s | #496 | #65 |
| 2000s | #256 | #25 |
| 2010s | #63 | #15 |
| 2020s | #42 | #35 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Grayson
- Canada#66
- Scotland#68
- England & Wales#90
Logan
- Canada#20
- Scotland#35
- England & Wales#76
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Grayson
Either "son of the grayve" (a steward or bailiff) or "son of Gray"
Surname scholars give two serious readings. One traces Grayson to Middle English grayve or grieve, a farm steward or bailiff — so the earliest bearers were the steward's sons. The other reads it as a straightforward patronymic from Gray, itself a byname for someone grey-haired or grey-clad. Both are well argued, and older spellings such as Grayveson support the first without ruling out the second.
Grayve / Grieve → Grayveson → Grayson
How it traveled
Grayson is an English surname from the north of the country, where it is recorded in medieval and early modern documents in forms including Grayveson. Like most English surnames, it stayed a surname for centuries, passed down families rather than chosen for babies.
Logan
little hollow
From Scottish Gaelic lagan, a diminutive of lag, 'hollow' or 'low-lying place' — the source of the place name Logan in Ayrshire, from which the surname comes. An unrelated Irish surname, Ó Leocháin, was also anglicized as Logan.
lag / lagan (Scottish Gaelic, 'hollow') → Logan (place, Ayrshire) → Logan (Scottish surname) → Logan (given name)
How it traveled
The oldest Logan is a piece of ground: a hollow in Ayrshire in southwest Scotland, whose name gave the local family theirs. Scottish and Ulster-Scots families carried the surname across the Atlantic, where it stuck to the map as well as to people — Mount Logan in the Yukon, Boston's Logan airport, the town of Logan, Utah.
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
Grayson
GRAY-sun
Stress on the first syllable. There is only one way to say it, and almost anyone who hears it can spell a version of it — though not always the version you chose.
- Gray — The standard short form, and a given name in its own right as well as a surname.
- Grey — The same short form spelled the English color way; often used by families who chose the Greyson spelling.
- G — Informal, family and playground use only.
Logan
LOH-gan
Two syllables, stress on the first. The spelling gives the sound away, so it survives phone calls, roll calls and coffee cups without correction.
- Lo — The most common clipping, used among family and friends; works equally for a boy or a girl.
- Logie — Follows the Scottish -ie diminutive pattern; affectionate and household-level rather than public.
- Logs — A teammate-and-classmate nickname, informal and usually short-lived.
Who has carried each name
Grayson
No documented entry for Grayson yet.
Logan
Logan Lerman (b. 1992) — Percy Jackson star
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 Grayson if you want…
- a newer arrivalGrayson entered the US charts in 1905
Choose Logan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsLogan is stepping back from its peak
- a long American recordLogan was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Grayson
Strengths
- Pronounced correctly on first hearing by nearly every English speaker; the sound gives no trouble in any accent.
- Sits in the well-established -son family of surname first names, so it needs no explaining to teachers, coaches or new relatives.
- Has one clean short form, Gray, which also works as a standalone name for an adult who wants something briefer.
To consider
- Grayson and Greyson both circulate, so expect to spell it aloud fairly often. Choosing one and sticking to it saves the most trouble.
- Its wave is very recent, so a Grayson will meet plenty of boys his own age with the name and almost no adults with it — the name currently reads as young.
- In DC Comics, Grayson is the family name of Dick Grayson, the first Robin. Some children will make the connection; whether that lands as fun or as tiresome depends on the child.
Logan
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and known everywhere in the English-speaking world — little risk of lifelong correcting.
- Charts in Canada, Scotland and England & Wales as well as the US, so it travels without translation.
- Short and complete on its own; it needs no nickname, though Lo and Logie are there if wanted.
To consider
- It reads male to most people on paper. A girl named Logan will meet forms and rosters that assume otherwise — manageable, but worth knowing in advance.
- The name rose sharply and is now easing back, so it clusters heavily around people in their teens and twenties. It may sound of a particular moment rather than timeless for a while.
- Very little to shorten. If you like a long name with a private nickname inside it, Logan gives you almost nothing to work with.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Grayson and Logan 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
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- Transatlantic hits: loved on both sides of the ocean
- America's top 100 names right now
- Generation Alpha names (born 2013 onward)
- all guides
Every list here names both Grayson and Logan — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Grayson or Logan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Grayson or Logan?
- Grayson, in 2025: Grayson ranked #51 with 5,805 babies; Logan ranked #53 with 5,576 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Grayson or Logan?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Grayson moved down 16 places; Logan moved down 37 places.
- Which is the older name, Grayson or Logan?
- Grayson entered the US charts in 1905; Logan was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Logan is the older name.
- How many people are named Grayson and Logan?
- About 127,000 people named Grayson are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 380,000 people named Logan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Graysons or Logans in the classroom?
- Grayson will almost certainly be the only one in school. Logan 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
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