Gray
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Gray Surname Genealogy
This surname has two likely origins. The first was Old English and a nickname or personal name for a man with grey hair or beard, from graeg, meaning grey. Although the name means the same in Scotland and Ireland, name holders there took their name from the early Gaelic word riabhach which also means brindled or grey. Gray in Ireland can also be an anglicized version of of the Irish MagRaith.
The second origin is French and locational, from the village of Croy or Gray in Normandy.
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A line of these Greys held Wilton castle in Herefordshire on the Welsh Marches and later, as Earls of Kent, were influential in political life until the 18th century. The last of these Greys, Henry Grey, died in 1740. Howick Hall in Northumberland has been with the Grey family since 1319. The original Earl Grey tea was originally blended to suit the water at Howick and was later marketed by Twinings.
Scotland. A Gray family in Scotland has also come from this Norman origin, starting with Hugo de Gray in 1248. Many Scottish Grays came from south Lanarkshire or were Border rievers. Many of them later emigrated to Ireland and America. George Gray, one of the vanquished of the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, left Scotland for America and Berwick, Maine.
The surname spellings are either Gray or Grey. However, Grey has been very much the outnumbered party. Grays have exceeded Greys by roughly six to one in England.
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Walter de Gray was Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor in the 13th century.
Andrew Gray, the First Lord Gray, was a Scottish nobleman and politician of the 15th century.
Lady Jane Grey was a claimant to the English throne in 1553 who was beheaded the following year.
Thomas Gray was an English clasical scholar and the poet who wrote the Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.
Charles Grey, the second Earl Grey, was the devisor of Earl Grey tea.
Elisha Gray was Alexander Graham Bell's rival in the invention of the telephone.
Zane Grey was the popular early 20th century American adventure writer.
Simon Gray was a prolific postwar English playwright.
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This surname has two likely origins. The first was Old English and a nickname or personal name for a man with grey hair or beard, from graeg, meaning grey. Although the name means the same in Scotland and Ireland, name holders there took their name from the early Gaelic word riabhach which also means brindled or grey. Gray in Ireland can also be an anglicized version of of the Irish MagRaith.
The second origin is French and locational, from the village of Croy or Gray in Normandy.
Select Gray Resources on The Internet
- Gray Family Name History Gray Scottish history.
- Gray Family - An American Adventure Grays from London.
- Gray Family History. Grays from Dorset.
- A Grey Family Tree. Greys from Ireland and NE England.
A line of these Greys held Wilton castle in Herefordshire on the Welsh Marches and later, as Earls of Kent, were influential in political life until the 18th century. The last of these Greys, Henry Grey, died in 1740. Howick Hall in Northumberland has been with the Grey family since 1319. The original Earl Grey tea was originally blended to suit the water at Howick and was later marketed by Twinings.
Scotland. A Gray family in Scotland has also come from this Norman origin, starting with Hugo de Gray in 1248. Many Scottish Grays came from south Lanarkshire or were Border rievers. Many of them later emigrated to Ireland and America. George Gray, one of the vanquished of the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, left Scotland for America and Berwick, Maine.
The surname spellings are either Gray or Grey. However, Grey has been very much the outnumbered party. Grays have exceeded Greys by roughly six to one in England.
Select Gray Names
Walter de Gray was Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor in the 13th century.
Andrew Gray, the First Lord Gray, was a Scottish nobleman and politician of the 15th century.
Lady Jane Grey was a claimant to the English throne in 1553 who was beheaded the following year.
Thomas Gray was an English clasical scholar and the poet who wrote the Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.
Charles Grey, the second Earl Grey, was the devisor of Earl Grey tea.
Elisha Gray was Alexander Graham Bell's rival in the invention of the telephone.
Zane Grey was the popular early 20th century American adventure writer.
Simon Gray was a prolific postwar English playwright.
Select Grays Today
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