# Murray (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/murray/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “sea”, “settlement” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmʌɹi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 22,299 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 21,908 / 391 (2% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 704, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Scottish surname derived from the place name Moray in northeastern Scotland, from Medieval Latin Moravia, Morauia, from Scottish Gaelic Moireibh, Moireabh, Moreb, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *mori (“sea”) + *trebā (“settlement”).

## What it means

Murray is grouped under sea.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 5 | 9,178 |
| 1974 | 5 | 9,712 |
| 1986 | 6 | 10,433 |
| 1990 | 5 | 14,468 |
| 2012 | 5 | 18,709 |
| 2016 | 6 | 15,642 |
| 2017 | 5 | 17,635 |
| 2018 | 6 | 15,081 |
| 2019 | 7 | 13,371 |
| 2020 | 7 | 13,060 |
| 2021 | 10 | 10,089 |
| 2022 | 8 | 11,907 |
| 2023 | 13 | 8,354 |
| 2024 | 12 | 8,789 |
| 2025 | 8 | 11,607 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 31 | 3,491 |
| 2012 | 42 | 2,854 |
| 2013 | 26 | 3,932 |
| 2014 | 40 | 2,917 |
| 2015 | 44 | 2,753 |
| 2016 | 43 | 2,819 |
| 2017 | 52 | 2,475 |
| 2018 | 44 | 2,781 |
| 2019 | 52 | 2,543 |
| 2020 | 47 | 2,683 |
| 2021 | 41 | 3,007 |
| 2022 | 47 | 2,781 |
| 2023 | 62 | 2,286 |
| 2024 | 48 | 2,735 |
| 2025 | 50 | 2,633 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 20 | 1,251 |
| 2012 | 27 | 1,021 |
| 2013 | 23 | 1,116 |
| 2014 | 21 | 1,223 |
| 2015 | 16 | 1,511 |
| 2016 | 21 | 1,271 |
| 2017 | 9 | 2,324 |
| 2018 | 11 | 1,991 |
| 2019 | 19 | 1,316 |
| 2020 | 12 | 1,825 |
| 2021 | 16 | 1,516 |
| 2022 | 18 | 1,420 |
| 2023 | 11 | 2,007 |
| 2024 | 21 | 1,282 |
| 2025 | 12 | 2,014 |

## In other languages

- Hindi: मरी
- Arabic: مُورَاي
- Chinese: 墨累河
- Italian: Murray
- Japanese: マレー川
- Korean: 머레이 강
- Russian: Му́ррей, Ма́рри

## People named Murray

- Murray Gell-Mann, American physicist (1929–2019)
- F. Murray Abraham, American actor (born 1939)
- Murray Rothbard, American economist (1926–1995)
- Murray Bookchin, American libertarian socialist author, orator, and philosopher (1921–2006)
- Murray Perahia, American pianist and conductor (born 1947)
- Murray Walker, British motorsport commentator and journalist (1923–2021)
- Murray Rose, Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, former world record-holder (1939-2012)
- Murray Head, British actor and singer
- Murray Hamilton, American actor (1923–1986)
- Murray Gold, British composer
- Murray Bartlett, Australian actor
- Murray Stewart, Australian canoeist

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.