# Carey (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/carey/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English habitational surname from either of these placenames.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 56,322 |
| US rank (2010) | 601 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 5,482 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.5% (54,924 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɛəɹi/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Cary |

## Etymology

* As a German surname, Americanized from Gehrig, Gehring. * As a Welsh surname, variant of Carew. * As an English surname, from placenames derived from Proto-Brythonic *karɨd (“to love”). * As an Irish surname, from mac Fhiachra (“descendant of Fiachra”), from préachán (“crow”). * Also as an Irish surname, from the root of the name Kerry.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Carey in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 81% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 14% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Carey in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and West Germany.

## People named Carey

- Mariah Carey, American singer (born 1969)
- Drew Carey, American comedian (born 1958)
- Peter Carey, Australian novelist (born 1943)
- Emily Carey, British actor
- Harry Carey, American actor (1878–1947)
- Danny Carey, American drummer
- Mary Carey, American pornographic actress
- Harry Carey, American actor (1921–2012)
- Henry Charles Carey, American economist and publisher (1793–1879)
- Jade Carey, American artistic gymnast
- Rick Carey, American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, former world record-holder
- Macdonald Carey, American actor (1913–1994)

and 25 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Carr, Corey, Cary, Caro, Cray, Currey, Carew, Cara, Cruey, Caraway, Carraway, Curry.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.