Carey family

Carey, Cary or Carrey is a surname that has four distinct geographical origins, in order of popularity: Ireland, the English West Country, Wales and France. The surname arises from nine recorded distinct patronymics in Ireland, and is numerous and widespread; the many original forms have been listed by the National Folklore Collection of Ireland in 2015, increasing the number of variants quoted by the Registrar General of Ireland in 1890. Some forms contain the Old Irish adjective 'ciar'- 'black/dark', of which Ó Ciardha (County Kildare, County Westmeath & 'many parts of the south of Ireland'), Ó Ciaráin (County Cork), Ó Céirín, (County Kerry, County Clare, County Mayo), Ó Cearáin (County Mayo), Mac Giolla Céire (County Cork, County Kilkenny), Ó Ciarmhacháin (County Cork) and Ó Ciarmhaic in some parts of Munster; also from the County Galway and County Meath surname Mac Fhiachra, through its early phonetic anglicisations of Keighry, Kehery & c.; and from Ó Carráin/Ó Corráin (County Tipperary), with the Irish root 'carra/corra'- 'spear'; and MacFhearadhaigh (MacCarry/MacCary), root 'fear'-'man', of County Antrim. It may derive from the English West Country, viz. Castle Cary on the River Cary in Somerset and/or Carey Barton on the River Carey in Devon, containing either the Pre-Celtic element 'kar'- 'stony/hard' (Watts, 2004), or the Celtic language element 'car' 'dear/pleasant' (Hanks, 2003). Carew, Pembrokeshire, from Welsh language 'Caeriw'- with the Celtic root 'caer'- 'fort', or from places in Cornwall, perhaps with the cognate Cornish element 'ker', or the Pre-Celtic element 'car'- 'stony/stones' as in Carey Tor, Bodmin Moor. Carey occurs as a variant of (de) Carrey in archives in Normandy, Burgundy, Franche-Comté etc., in France from habitational names, possibly with the Pre-Celtic element 'car'-'stony/stones'. The Norman name is probably the origin of the surname in Guernsey, Channel Islands.