Given name & surname
McRay
“the son of Ray”
McRay is a variant of Macrae. One interpretation is “the son of Ray.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
McRay is a variant of Macrae. One interpretation is “the son of Ray.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
McRay is a form of McRae. McRae comes from Scottish Gaelic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1934. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
McRay through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5
- 5 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1934
- 5 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1934. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 832 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
McRay’s family of names
McRay has a related form in Macrae. In English usage, McRay as a surname has a related form in McRae.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love McRay, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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