Carey (surname)

Carey is a surname arising from at least nine distinct patronymics in Ireland, and is numerous and widespread; the many original forms have been listed by the National Folklore Collection of Ireland in 2015, increasing the number of variants quoted by the Registrar General of Ireland in 1890. To list here a few: some forms contain the Old Irish adjective 'ciar'- 'black/dark', of which Ó Ciardha (County Kildare, County Westmeath & 'many parts of the south of Ireland'), Ó Ciaráin (County Cork), Ó Céirín, (County Kerry, County Clare, County Mayo), Ó Cearáin (County Mayo), Mac Giolla Céire (County Cork, County Kilkenny) and Ó Ciarmhacháin (County Cork); also from the County Galway and County Meath surname Mac Fhiachra, through its early phonetic anglicisations of Keighry, Kehery & c.; and from Ó Carráin/Ó Corráin (County Tipperary), with the Irish root 'carra/corra'- 'spear'; and MacFhearadhaigh (MacCarry/MacCary), root 'fear'-'man', of County Antrim. Secondly, it may derive from the English West Country, viz. Castle Cary on the River Cary in Somerset and/or Carey Barton on the River Carey in Devon, containing either the Pre-Celtic element 'kar'- 'stony/hard' (Watts, 2004), or the Celtic language element 'car' 'dear/pleasant' (Hanks, 2003); Thirdly, Carey occurs as an occasional variant of (de) Carrey in archives in Normandy, Burgundy, Franche-Comté etc., in France from habitational names, possibly with the Pre-Celtic element 'car'-'stony/stones'; Fourthly, Carew, Pembrokeshire, from Welsh language 'Caeriw'- with the Celtic root 'caer'- 'fort', or from places in Cornwall, perhaps with the cognate Cornish element 'ker', or the Pre-Celtic element 'car'- 'stony/stones' as in Carey Tor, Bodmin Moor.

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