It would be logical to assume the names Grayson and Greyson have something to do with the color gray... right?

Well, not in this case. These two names are actually variants of an English surname that, etymologically, has nothing to do with color.

They can be traced back to the Middle English word greyve, which signified a steward -- a person who was employed to manage the domestic concerns of an estate or property. And the word greyve came from the earlier word greifi, which was an Old Norse title denoting a certain type of nobleman (the equivalent of a count).

So our modern names Grayson and Greyson could come from surnames that meant either "son of the steward" or "son of the count," depending on the specific source of the surname.

Grayson has been among the most popular baby boy names in the U.S. since 1984. Greyson jumped onto the list a little later, in 1995. Both have been quietly climbing the popularity ladder over the past decade:

Grayson:
1997 - 369th most popular name for boys
1998 - 359th
1999 - 333rd
2000 - 313th
2001 - 321st
2002 - 308th
2003 - 297th
2004 - 272nd
2005 - 254th
2006 - 218th

Greyson:
1997 - 840th most popular name for boys
1998 - 796th
1999 - 724th
2000 - 706th
2001 - 669th
2002 - 704th
2003 - 671st
2004 - 655th
2005 - 565th
2006 - 503rd

Neither name is currently popular for baby girls, but I've seen some anecdotal evidence suggesting that they are currently being used for both genders. The big question now is: Will these names eventually go the way of Peyton and Avery, one-time male-only names that have since become more common for females?

Grayson and Greyson could be appealing as girl names because they combine the sound of Grace (currently ranked 17th) with the trendy, tomboyish "son" ending shared by Madison and Addison (3rd and 27th).

But I believe the one-two punch of "gray" and "son" (one a somber color, the other a masculine suffix) will likely be enough to stave off a total gender crossover.