Explore the Family Name Tray

The meaning of Tray

English: nickname from Middle English trey(e) ‘grief, suffering, misfortune’ (Old English trega) or from Middle English tray(e) ‘trick, treachery, deceit’ (Old French tray).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Tray in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, popularity data for the surname 'Tray' indicate a notable increase between 2000 and 2010. The ranking of this surname among all existing surnames in the United States improved from 57,090 in 2000 to 53,316 in 2010, reflecting a 6.61% rise. The number of individuals carrying this surname also increased by 16.17% over this decade, moving from 334 to 388. This suggests that the proportion of people with the surname 'Tray' per 100,000 population has also grown by 8.33%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#57,090	#53,316	6.61%
Count	334	388	16.17%
Proportion per 100k	0.12	0.13	8.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Tray

In terms of ethnicity, the census data reveals a shift in the ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Tray' from 2000 to 2010. While the percentage of those identifying as White decreased by 6.85%, the Asian/Pacific Islander and Black populations saw substantial increases of 29.18% and 29.05%, respectively. The percentage of people identifying with two or more races slightly decreased by 13.68%. There were no recorded instances of the surname within the Hispanic or American Indian and Alaskan Native communities during both years. These figures reflect the evolving demographic landscape in the United States, as mirrored in the changing ethnic composition of those bearing the surname 'Tray'.

	2000	2010	Change
White	80.24%	74.74%	-6.85%
Asian/Pacific Islander	8.98%	11.6%	29.18%
Black	5.99%	7.73%	29.05%
Two or More Races	3.29%	2.84%	-13.68%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%