The Family Facts archive, with its rich historical information, can tell you everything from the lifespan of your ancestors to the very meaning of your last name. Every time you find a fact, we'll tell you what it means.
carey Origin and Immigration
Top Places of Origin for carey
You can find out where the majority of carey families were living before they immigrated to the U.S. You can learn where to focus your search for foreign records.
Ports of Departure for carey
You can pinpoint where the majority of carey families booked passage to the US. You can find out where to start searching for carey records.
carey Immigration to the US by Year
You can find out when most of the carey families immigrated to the United States. You can focus your search to immigration records dating from that era.
Name History and Origin for carey Naming patterns can help you learn more about your family’s cultural and ethnic background. You might find alternate name spellings which are helpful when searching for family records.
carey Surname Distribution
Helpful, as you can decide where to start searching for carey records. You can also find out where the majority of carey families were living during the 19th century.
Origin: To trace the history of any family back to the period before the Norman conquest poses many difficulties. Although the surname offers the principle guide, surnames were not used in general until the compilation of the Domesday Book in the latter part of the eleventh century. Even at this time, there were no formal rules for how names should be spelt and even up until the time of Shakespeare in tudor times, names tended to be spelt phonetically. Early records show that both in England and France, the name of Carey, whether in the form Carrey, Carre, Cary or Kari, almost invariable appeared with the prefix ' De ' meaning ' of ' or 'belonging to'. The name therefore indicates that it is derived from a place or district. Although this place does not appear in Guernsey itself, looking further afield, Guernsey originally being part of the Duchy of Normandy shows records in the town of Lisieux, of the Manor of Carrey. The Domesday Book compiled some nineteen years after William the Conqueror invaded England from Normandy in 1066 indicates four families situated in the Somerset / Devonshire region with the name of Kari and Cary of which one can assume form the early ancestry of the English branch of Careys / Carys. The surname was also adopted to form the Irish branch of the family. Further records indicate the name of De Carreye and De Cary spread throughout Normandy after this time. History shows Guernsey becoming a busy port being used extensively for trade between the English province of Normandy and England, namely Poole in Dorset. The attraction of the island by some fortune-seeking younger son from nearby Normandy may well have caused the settling of the Carey family in Guernsey at this time and records mention a Johan Caree as an inhabitant of the Guernsey parish of St Martin's in c. 1288 performing the role of ' Coustomier ' or Law Practitioner. Again in St Martins, records a landowner in 1309 by the name of Philip Caree. In 1331, noted in the Assize Roll indicates a Johannes Karee as an official of the Ecclesiastical Court. The next mention of a Carey appears some forty years later with a Jean Careye shown as a tenant within the Roll of Tenants of the Abbey and Priory of St Martins in 1370 and again shown as paying rent in the form of ' ten bushels and one cabotel of wheat rente ' in 1393. The Heralds' College have accepted Jean Careye as ' living 1393 ' being the direct linked ancestor of all the Careys of Guernsey as shown in the Confirmation of Arms and Crest to William Wilfred Carey registered in 1915. The French form of 'Careye' was changed to the more Anglicized 'Carey' following an amendment to the Town Church Register by Laurent Carey on 18 May 1756. Due to the large number of Careys living on the Isle of Guernsey in the past, it was common practice during marriage to incorporate the surname of the bride's father as a mark of respect. This may have taken the form of a middle Christian name on the birth of the first son or added in front of the Carey surname. This has led to the various branches in the family tree following a common surname or middle name through the generations. Hence the names of Dobr?e, Havilland, Tupper, Sausmarez, De Vic, Priaulx, Brenton, Onslow and others.
Surnames: Carey
Submitted by: Paul Dobree-Carey
Origin of carey, Meaning of carey
Origin: Carey,very numerous in Ireland and through immigration in Britain, is derived from ? Ciardha, a sept of the Southern U? N?ill, who were Lords of Carbury in the present county of Kildare until dispersed by the Normans. Other Gaelic names eg Mac Fhiachra, ? Ciar?in/? C?ir?n have also been cited.
Surnames: Carey
Submitted by: Padraig O Ciardha
Copyright 1996-2008 by SurnameWeb.org. The webpages may be linked to but shall not be reproduced on another site without written permission from Dennis N. Partridge.