Head to head · Boys' names
Grayson vs Thiago
#51 vs #50 in 2025
Thiago is a whisker ahead (#50 vs #51 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Thiago is climbing the charts fast, Grayson 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
The tape is even: Grayson and Thiago each lead 3 measures of 6.
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
- 1900s: Grayson #1154, Thiago — — Grayson higher
- 1910s: Grayson #1440, Thiago — — Grayson higher
- 1920s: Grayson #1426, Thiago — — Grayson higher
- 1930s: Grayson #1580, Thiago — — Grayson higher
- 1940s: Grayson #1473, Thiago — — Grayson higher
- 1950s: Grayson #1569, Thiago — — Grayson higher
- 1960s: Grayson #1508, Thiago — — Grayson higher
- 1970s: Grayson #1427, Thiago — — Grayson higher
- 1980s: Grayson #939, Thiago #4895 — Grayson higher
- 1990s: Grayson #496, Thiago #5415 — Grayson higher
- 2000s: Grayson #256, Thiago #2442 — Grayson higher
- 2010s: Grayson #63, Thiago #502 — Grayson higher
- 2020s: Grayson #42, Thiago #99 — Grayson higher
Grayson stood higher in every recorded decade — 13 of 13.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Grayson | Thiago |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | #1154 | — |
| 1910s | #1440 | — |
| 1920s | #1426 | — |
| 1930s | #1580 | — |
| 1940s | #1473 | — |
| 1950s | #1569 | — |
| 1960s | #1508 | — |
| 1970s | #1427 | — |
| 1980s | #939 | #4895 |
| 1990s | #496 | #5415 |
| 2000s | #256 | #2442 |
| 2010s | #63 | #502 |
| 2020s | #42 | #99 |
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
Thiago
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
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.
Thiago
Ultimately from Hebrew Ya'aqov (Jacob), reached by way of "Saint James"
The immediate sense is straightforward: Thiago comes from Santiago, "Saint James." The older layer is where scholars divide. Ya'aqov has long been tied to Hebrew 'aqev, "heel" — the Genesis account has Jacob born gripping his twin's heel, which gives the traditional gloss "supplanter." Others read it as a shortened theophoric name, "may God protect." Both readings are seriously held.
Ya'aqov → Iakobos → Iacobus → Santiago / Tiago → Thiago
How it traveled
The name traveled a long road before it reached this spelling. Hebrew Ya'aqov became Iakobos in the Greek of the New Testament, then Iacobus in Latin, and from there splintered across Europe into James, Jacques, Giacomo and Jacob.
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.
Thiago
tee-AH-go
Brazilian Portuguese softens the opening consonant to something closer to chee-AH-go; Spanish and English speakers generally say tee-AH-go. The h is silent in every version. Stress stays on the middle syllable throughout.
- Thi — The everyday clipped form in Brazilian Portuguese; informal, used by family and friends.
- Thiaguinho — The Portuguese diminutive in -inho, affectionate and informal; also carried as a stage name by Brazilian performers.
- Tiago — The standard Portuguese spelling, sometimes used as the casual form of Thiago and also a full given name in its own right.
- T — A single-initial nickname common on sports rosters and in American classrooms.
Who has carried each name
Grayson
No documented entry for Grayson yet.
Thiago
Thiago Silva (b. 1984) — Brazil's longtime captain and defensive great
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 name past its most crowded yearsGrayson is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesGrayson is 2 syllables to Thiago's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooGrayson is on the national lists of Canada, Scotland and England & Wales
Choose Thiago if you want…
- a name on the way upup 118 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itThiago runs 3 syllables, Grayson 2
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.
Thiago
Strengths
- Recognized across Portuguese, Spanish and English-speaking countries, with close relatives — Santiago, Tiago, James — in nearly every European language.
- A documented line back through Latin and Greek to Hebrew, tied to one of the best-known pilgrim destinations in Europe.
- Three syllables, stress in the middle, ending in an open vowel — it carries well when called across a room or a field.
To consider
- Two spellings are both correct in the Portuguese-speaking world — Thiago in Brazil, Tiago in Portugal. Expect the h to be dropped by people writing it from hearing it.
- The first consonant is said differently depending on who is speaking: chee- in Brazil, tee- in Spanish and English. Families often end up living with both.
- The name is climbing quickly in the US, so it will sound more familiar to a kindergarten teacher a decade from now than it does today.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Grayson
79%chance Grayson feels dated by 2040
Grayson is coming down from a big peak (#32 in 2018). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Thiago
63%chance Thiago feels dated by 2040
Thiago is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
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 Grayson and Thiago in full.
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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
Every list here names both Grayson and Thiago — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Grayson or Thiago — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Grayson or Thiago?
- Thiago, in 2025: Thiago ranked #50 with 5,835 babies; Grayson ranked #51 with 5,805 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Grayson or Thiago?
- Thiago. Over the last five years Grayson moved down 16 places; Thiago moved up 118 places.
- Which is the older name, Grayson or Thiago?
- Grayson entered the US charts in 1905; Thiago entered the US charts in 1986. On the American record, Grayson is the older name.
- How many people are named Grayson and Thiago?
- About 127,000 people named Grayson are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 35,000 people named Thiago are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Graysons or Thiagos in the classroom?
- Grayson will almost certainly be the only one in school. Thiago 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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