An Irish surname, Carey came from the Old French term ‘kari’ which meant a pleasant stream. Variations in spelling for Carey include Kari, Kary, Cary, Mac Cary, Carrey, Carew and Cairy. A German spelling would be Gehring and Gehrig. In England many with the Carey surname resided in the Channel Islands between England and France. They also reside in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Somerset, the city of London, Essex, Kent and Surrey. In Scotland the central and southern regions have many Carey families. Most live in Angus, Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Wigtownshire and Perthshire. Within the United States the Carey surname is found in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri and California. Famous: Andy Carey (professional baseball player), Brian David Carey (Irish footballer player and coach), Duane G. Carey (astronaut), William P. Carey (founder of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC - real estate financing business), Drew Carey (comic, actor and TV host), George R. Carey (19th century inventor of using photo-electric properties to transmit images), Henry Carey (18th century poet and songwriter who wrote ‘God Save the King / Queen’), Jim Carey (professional ice hockey player) and Peter Carey (novelist).