Published Census surname record
GRAY
This page reports only measures present in the locked Census snapshot. Publication status and method differ by vintage.
Snapshot census-surnames-2026-08-04-92f7dece577a
Snapshot summary
How common was GRAY in the published Census surname files?
- The 1990 sample file reported 0.106% and rank 69 for GRAY; it did not provide a national count.
- The 2000 published surname table reported rank 79 and count 236,713 for GRAY.
- The 2010 published surname table reported rank 87 and count 246,116 for GRAY.
- The 2020 published cohort reported rank 89 and a derived, noise-affected total of 241,208 for GRAY.
Published measures by vintage
| Vintage | Publication | Rank | Count | Frequency percent | Per 100,000 | Method note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Published | 69 | Not provided for this vintage | 0.106% | Not available | Sample-based frequency; the source does not provide a national count. |
| 2000 | Published | 79 | 236,713 | Not available | 87.75 | The public table includes surnames meeting its publication threshold. |
| 2010 | Published | 87 | 246,116 | Not available | 83.44 | The public table includes surnames meeting its publication threshold. |
| 2020 | Published | 89 | 241,208 | Not available | 80.7 | Count is derived from published noise-affected component counts. |
Comparable published measures
Bars are used instead of a connected line because publication gaps and method changes must remain visible.
Why is there no national count for 1990?
0.106%
The 1990 source is a sample-frequency file. It reports frequency percentage and rank, but it does not provide a national surname count, so none is estimated here.
Compare with another surname
Methods and publication limits
1990 method
Valid surname records in the 1990 Post-Enumeration Survey Search Area sample, not the full decennial census population.
The downloadable surname file contains 88,799 edited sample surnames and reports sample frequency through the available distribution; absence does not mean nonexistence.
2000 method
People with valid surname information in Census 2000 after documented edits.
The public all-name file contains 151,671 surnames occurring at least 100 times; demographic cells from 1 through 4 are suppressed as (S).
2010 method
People with surnames recorded in the 2010 Census after documented edits.
The public table contains 162,253 surnames with frequency at least 100; the ALL OTHER NAMES aggregate is not a surname entity.
2020 method
Edited 2020 Census last names that were also in the 2010 public names table and had an unprotected frequency of at least 100 in both years.
The public workbook contains 156,621 cohort-eligible names. Disclosure-protection noise is added to race and Hispanic-origin component counts; total count and proportions are calculated from those noisy components, so a few published totals fall below 100. Public-file reconciliation finds 156,620 of those names in the downloadable 2010 CSV; NA is the sole exception and is flagged rather than zero-filled or silently removed because the methodology's eligibility process can rely on the underlying 2010 names table rather than this public-file intersection.
Official sources
- 1990 Census Frequently Occurring Surnames (dist.all.last)U.S. Census Bureau. Sample-based file; it supplies frequency percent, cumulative frequency percent, and rank, but no national count.Read the methodology
- Documentation and Methodology for Frequently Occurring Names in the U.S. - 1990U.S. Census Bureau. Documents the 1990 Post-Enumeration Survey Search Area sample, editing, missingness, coverage, and limitations.
- Census 2000 Surname Table archiveU.S. Census Bureau. The archive also contains an XLSX rendering. The deterministic parser uses app_c.csv and preserves (S) as suppression, never zero.Read the methodology
- Demographic Aspects of Surnames from Census 2000U.S. Census Bureau. Documents the Census 2000 surname universe, the 100-occurrence publication threshold, editing, and cell suppression for values from 1 through 4.
- 2010 Census Surname Table archiveU.S. Census Bureau. The deterministic parser uses Names_2010Census.csv. The ALL OTHER NAMES aggregate is validated separately and excluded from surname entities.Read the methodology
- Frequently Occurring Surnames in the 2010 CensusU.S. Census Bureau. Documents 2010 edits, comparison limits, and the 162,253-name public table covering names with frequency at least 100.
- Frequently Occurring Last Names in the 2020 Census by Race and Hispanic OriginU.S. Census Bureau. Sheet1 has a title row, blank row, header row 3, 156,621 named rows, and one ALL OTHER NAMES aggregate. Total count and proportions are derived from noise-affected race and Hispanic-origin components.Read the methodology
- Last Name Data From the 2020 CensusU.S. Census Bureau. Documents the 2010-and-2020 cohort rule, noise infusion into race and Hispanic-origin counts, derived totals, optimization against negatives, and the possibility of published totals below 100.