The McCray surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 28,024 people carried this name — #1,252 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 10,500 people counted. That is up 11% from 25,300 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, McCray was counted together with McRae: 105 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 611 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McRae, McCrae, McCray, McCre, McCrea, McKray, McRa, McRay, Mcray, McRea, McRee. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 59
Pennsylvania 14
South Carolina 12
New York 5
Maryland 5
Connecticut 4
Virginia 4
New Hampshire 1
Massachusetts 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 253 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McCray in American newspapers,
1904–1924.

Newspaper page from The Producers News carrying the name McCray
The Producers News 1924-05-09
Newspaper page from The Mirror And Farmer carrying the name McCray
The Mirror And Farmer 1904-05-19
Newspaper page from The Weekly Iberian carrying the name McCray
The Weekly Iberian 1922-10-14

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 42,992 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McCray in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

1,251 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCray. The most, 492, date from the 1950s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 3.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 942
New South Wales 173
Victoria 52
South Australia 27
Western Australia 24
Tasmania 23
ACT (Canberra) 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCray.

Who carried it

People named McCray,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Nikki McCray 1971–2023 · basketball coach
  • Warren T. McCray 1865–1938 · governor
  • Richard McCray 1937–2021 · university teacher

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named McCray,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,175 records

1,175 records of the McCray name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 650
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 291
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 106
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 67
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 26
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 21
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 7
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Earlis McCray

    Born 1899 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Los Angeles, California; porter. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1981, buried at Riverside National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Gregory McCray

    Born 1948; from Indianapolis, Indiana. U.S. Marine Corps, combat engineer; killed in action 1967 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Hugh McCray

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the England from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 60; laborer. From Tyrone, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,175 records for McCray in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia53 records

53 records of the McCray name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 22
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 20
  • Tasmanian Names Index 9
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Daniel McCray

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lord Lyndoch, sailing from London in 1840. Native of Belfast, Antrim.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Dond McCray

    Arrived in Victoria in 1879 aboard the Cyphrenes, aged 24.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Lionel McCray

    NSW railway employee; served in the First World War with the 18th Battalion.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 53 records for McCray in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Canada11 records

11 records of the McCray name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 8
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Jane McCray

    Buried in 1939 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 73.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jane McCray

    Died 1939 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Francis Thomas McCray

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 11 records for McCray in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the McCray name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. McCray

    Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McCray.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCray is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the McCray volume
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