English
The surname Carey is of English origin. The name is a Welsh and Cornish variation of the Welsh name Carew; a habitational name from any of the minor places in Wales, so called from the Welsh, 'caer', fort and 'rhiw', hill, slope, or merely from the plural of 'caer', ( fort ) 'caerau'. It is also possible that the surname Carew may also derive from the Cornish 'kerrow', which occurs seven times as a place name in Cornwall. The surname Carey may also be an English habitational name from one of the minor places in Devon and Somerset so called from their situation on a river of this name, most likely derived from the Celtic root 'car', love, liking, and meaning perhaps pleasant stream. This same element is most likely to be seen in the French river 'Cher' and 'Chiers', as well as the 'Car' in Wales. It can also be a English ( Norman ) habitational name from the manor of Carey, near Lisieux, Normandy, of uncertain etymology. The name has also been used by the Irish as an anglicization of the Gaelic O'Ciardha, 'descendant of Ciardha', a personal name derived from 'ciar', dark, black. The name dates back to the twelfth century were a Hamo de Kari is recorded in historical archives. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a Michael Carey, a carpenter formerly of London, who came to America aboard the Potomack; he settled in Maryland. This name is the four-hundredth and fifty-seventh most common surname in America.