Crary last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Crary is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Crary.

Meaning of Crary

A surname derived from the word "cray" referring to a small vessel or boat.

Crary, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Crary surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Crary in America

Crary is the 16635th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Crary surname appeared 1,723 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Crary.

We can also compare 2010 data for Crary to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 16635 16283 2.14%
Count 1,723 1,629 5.61%
Proportion per 100k 0.58 0.60 -3.39%

The history of the last name Crary

The surname Crary is of English origin, with its roots traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "cræft," which means "craft" or "skill." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone skilled in a particular trade or craft.

The earliest recorded instances of the Crary surname can be found in various historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries. It was initially spelled in various ways, such as Crafter, Crafty, and Crafftey, before evolving into its current form. The name is also closely associated with several place names in England, such as Crayford in Kent and Craven in Yorkshire.

One of the earliest known references to the Crary surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which record a person named Richard Crafter in Cambridgeshire. Another notable early record is the Poll Tax Returns of 1379, which mention a John Crafty in Yorkshire.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Crary surname. One such figure is Christopher Crary (c. 1610-1666), an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of Groton, Connecticut. Another prominent Crary was Isaac Edwin Crary (1804-1854), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Michigan.

In the literary realm, the name is associated with Mary Jane Crary (1828-1910), an American author and educator known for her works on etiquette and social manners. The name also surfaces in military history with Charles Crary (1833-1911), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Another notable figure is Robert Crary (1766-1835), a prominent early American architect and engineer who contributed to the construction of several notable structures, including the Massachusetts State House in Boston.

While the Crary surname has its origins in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through immigration to North America and other English-speaking countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Crary

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Crary.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Crary was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.25% 1,624
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.64% 11
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.10% 19
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.75% 13
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.28% 22
Hispanic Origin 1.97% 34

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Crary has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.25% 96.50% -2.36%
Black 0.64% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.10% 0.61% 57.31%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.75% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.28% 1.47% -13.82%
Hispanic 1.97% 0.80% 84.48%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Crary was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Crary, please contact us.

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"Crary last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/crary-surname-popularity/.

"Crary last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/crary-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Crary last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/crary-surname-popularity/.

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