Gray (surname)
Gray is a surname of Scottish or Irish origin, and may refer to many people.
Among the Scottish and Irish Grays, the surname usually has a Gaelic source. Similar to most Irish and Scottish surnames, Gray is usually a literal translation or a phonetic transcription brought on by the English, forcing "Anglicization" of the original Gaelic surnames of both countries. A phonetic transcription of the Gaelic "MacRaith" (sounds like Mc-Raw) and commonly translates to "McGrath" or "McGraw" (meaning "son of grace") but can also turn up as "Gray." The literal translation of Gaelic to English is Mac Giolla Riabhaigh, Mac Riabhaigh, or Ó Riabhaigh, meaning 'son/grandson of the gray.'
In England, the name is typically of Norman origin, stemming from the town of Grayes in Calvados, France. Most English names today were brought to England during the Norman conquest of the 11th century.
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Famous quotes containing the word gray:
“You can’t build life the way you put blocks together, Toddy.... Did Knox teach you what makes the blood flow? Did he tell you how thoughts come and how they go, and why things are remembered and forgot?... What makes a thought start?... You don’t know and you’ll never know or understand.... Look, look at yourself. Could you be a doctor, a healing man, with the things those eyes have seen? There’s a lot of knowledge in those eyes, but no understanding.”
—Philip MacDonald, and Robert Wise. Gray (Boris Karloff)