How common is the surname Ray?

133,171 people in the United States had the surname Ray in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,318 Americans. It ranked 220th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Ray?

In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named Ray identified as white (not Hispanic), and 18% as Black (not Hispanic).

Who is the most famous person named Ray?

Man Ray, American and French visual artist (1890–1976), followed by John Ray.

Where is the surname Ray most common?

Wikidata records people named Ray in the United States, the United Kingdom and British Raj and 2 other countries.

Is the surname Ray getting more or less common?

More common. 128,794 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 133,171 in 2010, up 3.4%.

What are other spellings of Ray?

Rey, Rai, Rhay, Rhey, Rhaga and Rhagae.

Is Ray also a first name?

Yes. Ray 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.

The surname Ray

A French nickname surname, carried by 133,171 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ɹeɪ/ 1 syllable Soundex R000 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Ray is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

French origin

* As an English surname, from pet forms derived from the root of Raymond. * Also as an English surname, from Old French rei (“king”). Compare Roy, King. * Also as an English surname, from Old English rā (“roe deer”). Compare Roe. * Also as an English surname, variant of Wray and Rye. * As a Scottish Gaelic surname, shortened from McRae. * As a French surname, from the verb raier (“to gush out, flow, radiate”). Compare Leray. * As a Polish and Slovene surname, Americanized from Raj, from raj (“paradise”). * As an Indian surname, variant of Rai.

Ray is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 133,171 people named Ray in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,318 Americans. That is up 3.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 128,794.

#220

rank among US surnames

133,171

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.4%

change since 2000 (was #208)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#211	Cunningham	135,718	2,275
#212	Duncan	135,187	2,284
#213	Armstrong	135,044	2,286
#214	Hudson	134,963	2,288
#215	Carroll	134,317	2,299
#216	Lane	134,227	2,300
#217	Riley	133,872	2,306

Who is named Ray

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

75% of people named Ray identified as white (not Hispanic), 18% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 75%
Black (not Hispanic) 18%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 2.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Rays

37 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Man Ray
American and French visual artist (1890–1976)
John Ray
British botanist (1627–1705)
James Earl Ray
American criminal, convicted for the murder of civil rights activist and Nobel peace prize, 1928–1998
Martha Raye
American comic actress and singer (1916-1994)
Vanessa Ray
American actress, born 1981
Johnnie Ray
American singer and pianist (1927–1990)
Dixy Lee Ray
American marine biologist, politician and seventeenth governor of Washington (1914-1994)
Jean Ray
Belgian writer (1887–1964)
Aldo Ray
American actor (1926-1991)
Rachael Ray
American television host, businesswoman, celebrity cook, and author, born 1968
Sukumar Ray
Bengali poet, story writer, playwright and editor (1887-1923)
Fred Olen Ray
American filmmaker, born 1954

Notable Rays come mostly from the United States (29), the United Kingdom (4) and British Raj (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Rey
Rai
Rhay
Rhey
Rhaga
Rhagae
Rhaganae
Rhages
Rages
Raga

Surnames that sound like Ray

Ray has the Soundex code R000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R000.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Ray come from?: * As an English surname, from pet forms derived from the root of Raymond. * Also as an English surname, from Old French rei (“king”). Compare Roy, King. * Also as an English surname, from Old English rā (“roe deer”). Compare Roe. * Also as an English surname, variant of Wray and Rye. * As a…
How common is the surname Ray?: 133,171 people in the United States had the surname Ray in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,318 Americans. It ranked 220th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Ray?: In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named Ray identified as white (not Hispanic), and 18% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Ray?: Man Ray, American and French visual artist (1890–1976), followed by John Ray.
Where is the surname Ray most common?: Wikidata records people named Ray in the United States, the United Kingdom and British Raj and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Ray?: Ray is /ɹeɪ/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Ray?: Ray is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Ray getting more or less common?: More common. 128,794 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 133,171 in 2010, up 3.4%.
What are other spellings of Ray?: Rey, Rai, Rhay, Rhey, Rhaga and Rhagae.
Is Ray also a first name?: Yes. Ray 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.