Skip to content

The surname Carey

A patronymic surname, carried by 56,322 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkɛəɹi/ 2 syllables Soundex C600 Also a first name

Carey: #601 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Carey #601, 56,322 people Carey: #601 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott Carey #601, 56,322 people
Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Carey is more common than 99.6% of them.

Origin

* 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.

Carey is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 56,322 people named Carey in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,482 Americans. That is up 2.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 54,924.

#601
rank among US surnames
56,322
people in 2010
19
per 100,000 Americans
+2.5%
change since 2000 (was #547)
RankSurnamePeople1 in
#592Houston56,9005,426
#593Carson56,8725,429
#594Morrow56,8405,432
#595Clayton56,6385,451
#596Whitaker56,6165,453
#597Decker56,5765,457
#598Yoder56,4105,473

Who is named Carey

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

81% of people named Carey identified as white (not Hispanic), 14% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Careys

37 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

  • Mariah Carey
    American singer (born 1969)
  • Drew Carey
    American comedian (born 1958)
  • Peter Carey
    Australian novelist (born 1943)
  • Emily Carey
    British actor, born 2003
  • Harry Carey
    American actor (1878–1947)
  • Danny Carey
    American drummer, born 1961
  • Mary Carey
    American pornographic actress, born 1980
  • Harry Carey
    American actor (1921–2012)
  • Henry Charles Carey
    American economist and publisher (1793–1879)
  • Jade Carey
    American artistic gymnast, born 2000
  • Rick Carey
    American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, former world record-holder, born 1963
  • Macdonald Carey
    American actor (1913–1994)

Notable Careys come mostly from the United States (28), Australia (4) and the United Kingdom (4).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Surnames that sound like Carey

Carey has the Soundex code C600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C600.

Questions

Where does the surname Carey come from?
* 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…
How common is the surname Carey?
56,322 people in the United States had the surname Carey in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,482 Americans. It ranked 601st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Carey?
In the 2010 Census, 81% of people named Carey identified as white (not Hispanic), and 14% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Carey?
Mariah Carey, American singer (born 1969), followed by Drew Carey.
Where is the surname Carey most common?
Wikidata records people named Carey in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Carey?
Carey is /ˈkɛəɹi/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Carey?
Carey is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Carey getting more or less common?
More common. 54,924 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 56,322 in 2010, up 2.5%.
What are other spellings of Carey?
Cary.
Is Carey also a first name?
Yes. Carey is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.