# Ferry (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 10,312 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,467 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 29,940 people |
| Change since 2000 | -7.8% (11,190 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Farry |

## Etymology

Two main origins: * A reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Fearadhaigh (“descendant of Fearadhach”), a personal name probably derived from an adjective derivative of fear (“man”). * A metonymic occupational surname for a ferryman or a topographic surname for someone who lived by a ferry crossing, from Middle English feri (“ferry”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Ferry 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) | 92% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Ferry in the United States.

## People named Ferry

- Edward Ferry, American rower (1941–2023)
- Danny Ferry, American basketball player (born 1966)
- Elisha P. Ferry, American politician (1825-1895)
- Bob Ferry, American basketball player-coach
- Thomas W. Ferry, American politician (1827-1896)

## Similar surnames

Frey, Fierro, Ferro, Fehr, Ferri, Ferree, Furry, Fear, Forry, Fero, Fry, Frye.

## 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.