2000
#123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 178,414
First available Census row
Per 100,000 66.14
Common Last name
Murray
A topographic surname of Scottish and Irish origin, referring to someone who lived near a moor or fen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 205,416 Americans carry the last name Murray. That puts it at #139 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 59.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,669 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Murray surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Murray with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
205K
1 in 1,669
Census rank
#139
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
59.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
179K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 179,133 bearers of the surname Murray in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 59.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 139th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Murray, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Murray
The surname Murray is of Scottish origin, deriving from a territorial designation for someone who lived in or came from the region of Moray in northeastern Scotland. The name is believed to have originated from the Gaelic words "muir" meaning sea and "reidh" meaning flat or level, referring to the flat coastal lands near the Moray Firth.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Murray date back to the 12th century, with mentions in various Scottish charters and records. One notable reference is in the "Registrum Moraviense," a cartulary of the Bishopric of Moray, where the name appears as "Muref" and "Murrefe" in the early 13th century.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholders in England after the Norman Conquest, the name appears as "Murifeld" and "Murigge," which are believed to be variations of the same name. This suggests that the Murray name may have been present in parts of England as well during that time.
The Murray name has a long and distinguished history in Scotland, with several notable individuals bearing the name throughout the centuries. One of the earliest was Sir Andrew Murray, a Scottish knight who played a significant role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, fighting alongside William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.
Another prominent figure was Sir James Murray of Philiphaugh, a Scottish military commander who fought for the Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the 17th century. He is best known for his victory over the Royalists at the Battle of Philiphaugh in 1645.
In the realm of literature, Sir David Murray of Gorthy (c. 1567-1629) was a Scottish poet and courtier who served as a diplomat and Lord of the Bedchamber to King James VI of Scotland and I of England.
In more recent times, John Murray III (1808-1892) was a renowned Scottish publisher who founded the publishing house John Murray, which published works by authors such as Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and Charles Darwin.
Lastly, one of the most famous Murrays of modern times is the Scottish actor Sir Sean Connery (1930-2020), best known for his portrayal of James Bond in the iconic film series.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Murray
Among Census respondents with the surname Murray, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Murray bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Murray surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.3% · 129,520
- Black or African American18.6% · 33,352
- Two or more races4.0% · 7,251
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 6,697
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,333
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 980
Timeline
Historical Census data for Murray
Murray appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#136
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 184,910
+6,496 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 62.69
Rank movement Down 13 places
2020
#139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 179,133
-5,777 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 59.93
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123 | 178,414 | 66.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136 | 184,910 | 62.69 | +6,496 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 13 places |
| 2020 | #139 | 179,133 | 59.93 | -5,777 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 3 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Murray surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #136 | #139 | -2.2% |
| Count | 184,910 | 179,133 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 62.69 | 59.93 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Murray bearers went from 184,910 to 179,133 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #136 to #139.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Murray
FAQ
Murray surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Murray?
Name Census estimates that about 205,416 living Americans carry the surname Murray. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,669 residents.
How common is Murray?
Murray ranks #139 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 59.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 60 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 179,133 people with the surname Murray. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (205,416), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 59.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 59.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 60 of them to have the surname Murray.
Has Murray become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Murray went from 184,910 recorded bearers to 179,133. That is a decrease of 5,777 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #136 to #139.
What does the Census say about the background of Murray?
Among Census respondents with the surname Murray, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Murray in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.3% (129,520 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Murray appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.3%), Black (18.6%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Murray (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Murray mean?
A topographic surname of Scottish and Irish origin, referring to someone who lived near a moor or fen. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Murray (59.93 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Murray?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.