Ray

Where Ray comes 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 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.
— Wiktionary's entry for Ray
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #95 among boys — 142 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1891
    Peak, #49
    360 babies named Ray — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1902
    Ray Kroc born
    American businessman
  4. 1920
    Ray Bradbury born
    American author and screenwriter
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given names Raymond, Rayane, and Rayan, also used as a formal given name.
  • A diminutive of the female given name Rachel, more often spelled Rae.
  • A number of places in the United States:
  • A census-designated place in Coosa County, Alabama.
  • A ghost town in Pinal County, Arizona.
  • A township in Macomb County, Michigan.
  • An unincorporated community in Koochiching County, Minnesota.
Namesakes
  • Ray Bradbury · American author and screenwriter, 1920–2012
  • Ray Kroc · American businessman, 1902–1984
  • Ray Clemence · English association football player, 1948–2020
  • Ray Winstone · English actor, born 1957
  • Ray William Johnson · American YouTuber, born 1981

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.