The Murray surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 184,910 people carried this name — #136 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,600 people counted. That is up 4% from 178,414 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Murray surname
A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Murray» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 438 births for the Murray name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 19,400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 33 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 843 people named Murray live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
177 people named Murray live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 139 people named Murray.
Most of them — 86 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 12 départements, most often Nord.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
62 people named Murray have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 182 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 11 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 43 people named Murray live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
395 people named Murray are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Murray in American newspapers,
1883–1914.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,937,309 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Murray,
with a public archive behind them.
-
John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl 1631–1703 · judge -
John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl 1660–1724 · politician -
James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl 1690–1764 · politician -
Lord George Murray 1694–1760 · military personnel -
Alexander Murray 1715–1762 · military personnel
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 148 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Murray.
- Murie 362 · U.S. census
- Muriel 1,778 · U.S. census
- Murillo 45,558 · U.S. census
- Murin 465 · U.S. census
- Muro 7,916 · U.S. census
- Murphy 308,417 · U.S. census
- Mury 177 · U.S. census
- Mus 131 · U.S. census
- Musa 3,736 · U.S. census
- Muscat 875 · U.S. census
- Muse 12,571 · U.S. census
- Musetti 197 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Murray 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.