# Gray vs Grey, which is the name of the wolf? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121 "2015-05-29T15:06:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/1 "2015-05-29T15:06:52Z")
I am not asking about the spelling of the color, that’s a different debate. I am asking about the name of the wolf. I was told in high school that the wolf was named for a Mr. Grey, and not for its color. Because of this, I have always spelled the color “gray” and the name of the wolf “grey”. Were my teachers lying? However, the [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf) refers to it as a “gray wolf”. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/2 "2015-05-29T16:11:38Z")
It’s the same question. The wolf is named for its color, and there are two acceptable spellings for the color, thus two spellings for the name of the wolf. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/3 "2015-05-29T16:24:40Z")
Honestly, I think that most people use “gray” and “grey” interchangably. Unless they’re grammer pedants, or you’re talking about someone’s name. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/4 "2015-05-29T16:48:20Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > I was told in high school that the wolf was named for a Mr. Grey, and not for its color. Pretty sure this is not true, and is the cause of your confusion. The grey wolf has a wide range that has intersected with western civilization far longer than we’ve been naming animals after the individual who discovered them. It’s called a grey wolf because its a grey colored wolf. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/5 "2015-05-29T17:00:51Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Pretty sure this is not true, and is the cause of your confusion. The grey wolf has a wide range that has intersected with western civilization far longer than we’ve been naming animals after the individual who discovered them. It’s called a grey wolf because its a grey colored wolf. You’re right. There is a famous early naturalist of the British Museum, [Sir Robert Gray](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Robert_Gray), who has the Gray’s Grasshopper Warbler named after him, but notice the use of the possessive form: _Gray’s_ Warbler, as opposed to the _gray_ wolf. Pretty sure the wolf was called that before Gray was born in 1808, anyway. Could easily be confirmed by consulting the OED. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/6 "2015-05-29T17:14:19Z")
\*\*Gray vs Grey, which is the name of the wolf? \*\* It’s a gray area. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/7 "2015-05-31T13:17:17Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > There is a famous early naturalist of the British Museum, [Sir Robert Gray](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Robert_Gray), who has the Gray’s Grasshopper Warbler named after him, but notice the use of the possessive form: _Gray’s_ Warbler I was told in high school that the warbler was named not for Mr. Gray, but for its manner of feeding by grazing on insects. Because of this, I have always spelled the famous early naturalist of the British Museum “Gray” and the name of the warbler “Graze”. Were my teachers lying? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/8 "2015-05-31T13:23:25Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Honestly, I think that most people use “gray” and “grey” interchangably. Unless they’re grammer pedants, or you’re talking about someone’s name. They do, but gray is the American spelling, and grey is the English. Signed, Freudian Slit, a “grammer pedant” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/9 "2015-05-31T13:34:44Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I was told in high school that the warbler was named not for Mr. Gray, but for its manner of feeding by grazing on insects. Because of this, I have always spelled the famous early naturalist of the British Museum “Gray” and the name of the warbler “Graze”. Were my teachers lying? I expect they were misinformed rather than lying. [Gray's grasshopper warbler - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray%27s_grasshopper_warbler) ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/10 "2015-05-31T14:50:07Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I was told in high school that the warbler was named not for Mr. Gray, but for its manner of feeding by grazing on insects. Because of this, I have always spelled the famous early naturalist of the British Museum “Gray” and the name of the warbler “Graze”. Were my teachers lying? Your teachers were completely right, but not about the grazing, the Graze War Blur is actually a combat drone that moves so fast it doesn’t need to touch a target to incapacitate it, it just has a special hatred for grasshoppers. This is why no one dresses as a grasshopper for Halloween in northeastern Asian wooded areas. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/11 "2015-05-31T14:57:57Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > I am not asking about the spelling of the color, that’s a different debate. I am asking about the name of the wolf. I was told in high school that the wolf was named for a Mr. Grey, and not for its color. Because of this, I have always spelled the color “gray” and the name of the wolf “grey”. Were my teachers lying? However, the [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf) refers to it as a “gray wolf”. I have never heard of this, and frankly it seems ridiculous. I have no idea why a teacher might claim something like this. In any case, the possessive should be used. As has been said, “gray” and “grey” are simply variant spellings of the same word, with the first being preferred in the US and the second in the UK. > [@bienville](#): > > I was told in high school that the warbler was named not for Mr. Gray, but for its manner of feeding by grazing on insects. Because of this, I have always spelled the famous early naturalist of the British Museum “Gray” and the name of the warbler “Graze”. Were my teachers lying? This is so outlandish and absurd that I have to assume it is an attempt at a whoosh. In the unlikely event that it isn’t, “grazing warbler” and “graze warbler” get a remarkable zero hits on Google. (Usually even weird combinations will get a few hits.) ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/12 "2015-06-02T03:45:22Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I have never heard of this, and frankly it seems ridiculous. I have no idea why a teacher might claim something like this. In any case, the possessive should be used. > > As has been said, “gray” and “grey” are simply variant spellings of the same word, UK teachers would INSIST on “Grey”… They’d say “gray is a persons name”. However the child can see the authority (eg a US book ) is saying the wolf is a gray wolf… The child then misunderstands and thinks “Gray is the correct spelling, and so it must be named after a person!”… Or the teacher believed the wolf must not described as color grey, it is named “gray wolf”… Graze Warbler… that was just a joke. Its so unbelievable …according to that teacher. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/13 "2015-06-02T06:54:07Z")
I heard once that the Canada Goose was named after someone called Mr. Canada. 10 seconds of cursory Googling disproved the case, but odd how similar this story is! Some people just like inventing etymologies, I suppose! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-vs-grey-which-is-the-name-of-the-wolf/721121/14 "2015-06-02T06:57:00Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > I heard once that the Canada Goose was named after someone called Mr. Canada. 10 seconds of cursory Googling disproved the case, but odd how similar this story is! Some people just like inventing etymologies, I suppose! Yeah, that was just silly. Everyone knows the Canada Goose was named after Archibald Goose, the famous naturalist and ornithologist.