An English surname, Bray comes from the Old French term ‘bray’ meaning marshlands and a Cornish term ‘bre’ which means a hill. The spelling variations for Bray include Braie, Brea, Brayer, O’Bray, Braye, de Braye and Bree. In England the Bray surname is located all across the country and into most of Wales. The higher percentage of population with the Bray family name are in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Cornwall, Somerset, Devon and the city of London. In Scotland there is a scattering of Bray families. Most live in the Midlothian, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire counties. Within the United States the earliest Bray families settled in Massachusetts, New York, Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Famous: Charles Bray (English artist and glass sculptor), Ray Bray (professional football player), Robert Bray (actor), Libba Bray (novelist), Stephen Bray (songwriter and musician), John Randolph Bray (animator), Anna Eliza Bray (19th century English novelist), Deanne Bray (actress) and Hiawatha Bray (journalist of technological advances).