# Murray (surname)

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

A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 184,910 |
| US rank (2010) | 136 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,670 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.6% (178,414 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmʌɹi/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## 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”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Murray 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) | 75% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 19% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Murray in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Kingdom of Great Britain and South Africa.

## People named Murray

- Bill Murray, American actor and comedian
- Chad Michael Murray, American actor
- Margaret Murray, Anglo-Indian Egyptologist (1863–1963)
- Douglas Murray, British author and political commentator (born 1979)
- Sean Murray, American actor (born 1977)
- Don Murray, American actor (1929–2024)
- Henry Murray, American psychologist and academic (1893–1988)
- Ashleigh Murray, American actress and singer
- Jillian Murray, actress
- Pauli Murray, American writer, activist, lawyer and Episcopal priest (1910-1985)
- Mae Murray, American actress, dancer, film producer, screenwriter (1885–1965)
- Joel Murray, American actor

and 68 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Murry, Muro, Marra, Merry, Moura, Murr, Maury, Murrow, Miura, Murrah, Morra, Murrey.

## 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.