| Frequency Comparisons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Rank | Frequency % | Per million people | |
| United States | ||||
| United States (Current snapshot) | 128,794 | 208 | 0.048 | 477 |
| United States (1880 census) | 29,498 | 168 | 0.059 | 590 |
| Change since 1880 | +99296 | -40 | -0.011 | -113 |
| Other Countries | ||||
| Australia | 2,231 | 717 | 0.014 | 136 |
| United Kingdom | 7,977 | 771 | 0.017 | 174 |
| Top States for RAY by Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total | Rank in State | Frequency % | Per million people |
| Texas | 12,020 | 182 | 0.058 | 576 |
| California | 8,151 | 381 | 0.024 | 241 |
| North Carolina | 7,218 | 107 | 0.090 | 897 |
| Georgia | 6,938 | 116 | 0.085 | 847 |
| Florida | 6,753 | 255 | 0.042 | 423 |
| Top States for RAY by Frequency | ||||
| State | Total | Rank in State | Frequency % | Per million people |
| Alabama | 5,727 | 91 | 0.129 | 1,288 |
| Mississippi | 3,229 | 109 | 0.114 | 1,135 |
| Tennessee | 6,449 | 92 | 0.113 | 1,134 |
| Arkansas | 2,731 | 92 | 0.102 | 1,022 |
| Kentucky | 3,969 | 102 | 0.098 | 982 |
'A figure of zero indicates that we don't have data for this name (usually because it's quite uncommon and our stats don't go down that far). It doesn't mean that there's no-one with that name at all!
For less common surnames, the figures get progressively less reliable the fewer holders of that name there are. This data is aggregated from several public lists, and some stats are interpolated from known values. The margin of error is well over 100% at the rarest end of the table!
For less common surnames, the frequency and "per million" values may be 0 even though there are people with that name. That's because they represent less than one in a million of the population, which ends up as 0 after rounding.
It's possible for a surname to gain in rank and/or total while being less common per million people (or vice versa) as there are now more surnames in the USA as a result of immigration. In mathematical terms, the tail has got longer, with a far larger number of less common surnames.
Figures for top states show firstly the states where most people called RAY live. This obviously tends to be biased towards the most populous states. The second set of figures show where people called RAY represent the biggest proportion of the population. So, in this case, there are more people called RAY in Texas than any other state, but you are more likely to find a RAY by picking someone at random in Alabama than anywhere else.
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Language of origin: English
Ethnic origin: English
Religious origin: Christian
Name derivation: Nickname
Data for religion and/or language relates to the culture in which the RAY surname originated. It does not necessarily have any correlation with the language spoken, or religion practised, by the majority of current American citizens with that name.
Data for ethnic origin relates to the region and country in which the RAY surname originated. It does not necessarily have any correlation with the ethnicity of the majority of current American citizens with that name.
| Classification | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| White (Caucasian) | 99,931 | 77.59 |
| Black/African American | 21,985 | 17.07 |
| Mixed Race | 2,112 | 1.64 |
| White (Hispanic) | 2,138 | 1.66 |
| Asian/Pacific | 1,610 | 1.25 |
| Native American/Alaskan | 1,030 | 0.8 |
Ethnic distribution data shows the number and percentage of people with the RAY surname who reported their ethnic background as being in these broad categories in the most recent national census.
This name may have several origins. Ruadh and Reagh, Gaelic, swarthy, red, sandy complexioned. Re, the moon. Ray, a beam of light, luster. Re, from ruo, to rush, applied to a stream, rapids, whence the river Reay, in Caithness, Scotland. Rea, Cor. Br., wonderful, strange. Rhe, Welsh, a run, Rhedu, to run. Rhae, Welsh, a battle, the place of a battle; a chain.
Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.
RAY. The estate of Gill, in the parish of Bromfield, co. Cumberland, belonged to the family of Reay, or Ra_y, from tlie time of William the Lion, king of Scotland, who died in 1214. Tradition says, that the original Ray was a faithful adherent of the Scottish monarch, by whom he was greatly esteemed, for his extraordinary swiftness of foot in pursuing the deer (which, like that of the Homeric hero, woSa ii}KVQ 'AxitvQ, exceeded that of most horsemen and dogs) and who gave him the estate. The tenure was by a pepper-corn rent, with the stipulation, that the name of William should be perpetuated in the familj-. This was strictly observed from generation to generation, until the latter half of the last century, when the Mr. William Reay in possession gave to the ' hope of the house ' the name of John. From these Reaj-s have sprung most, if not all, the Rays, Wreys, and Wrays, in England. John Ray, the naturalist, originally wrote himself Wray, and his ancestors, who but a generation or two before had emigrated from Cumbei"land, spelt their name indifferently Wray or Wrey. The surname itself was probably borrowed from the sobriquet of William the Lion's fleet-footed vassal, lia, or raa. being the A-Sax., and rae the Lowland Scottish for a roe. Hutchinson's Cumberland, 1794-, vol. ii. p. 302. The fish called a ray was so named after the great naturalist. There are several Le Rays in H.R.
Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.
The following names have similar spellings or pronunciations as RAY.
This does not necessarily imply a direct relationship between the names, but may indicate names that could be mistaken for this one when written down or misheard.
Matches are generated automatically by a combination of Soundex, Metaphone and Levenshtein matching.