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ArchivesRe: what is the origin/meaning of the surname RAY?
in reply to a message by Ronald Ray
It could be from a number of things ...anything from English, French, Irish, Scottish, etc. ...Ultimately it has it's roots in "Rex, Reg or Roy" in Latin meaning "king" ...
Just a guess, but I'd say gathering where your from and the history associated with it that the name likely came from the Norman-French to England and then over to the States during the colonization period.
Just a guess, but I'd say gathering where your from and the history associated with it that the name likely came from the Norman-French to England and then over to the States during the colonization period.
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In England Ray is sometimes grouped with several other surnames - Wray, Wreay, Wragg, Rea - given a common origin, the Danish (or Norse?) VRA. This means a nook, a corner, a secluded spot, and can be found in Northern English place-names, e.g., Wreay in Cumbria. It's possible that the names without initial W could have other origins, as already suggested.
The hint of a German origin could scotch all these suggestions, and lead us off in another direction.
The hint of a German origin could scotch all these suggestions, and lead us off in another direction.
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