A Scottish and Irish surname, McCray comes from the Gaelic term ‘rath’ which refers to grace and prosperity. The ‘mc’ means the son of. The spelling variations for McCray include MacRae, MacRay, MacCrae, MacCraw, MacCrea and MacCreight. In England the McCray family name is concentrated in Cumberland, Lanarkshire, Yorkshire; then south in Devon and the city of London. In Scotland those with the McCray surname mostly live in Lanarkshire, Inverness-shire, Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire. Many over the centuries of the McCray families have moved to Ireland and then to the United States and Canada. Within the United States the McCray family name started across many states. The higher populations are mostly in Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Famous: Nikki McCray (professional basketball player), Ewan McCray (champion cricket player from England), Carrie Allen McCray (writer of novels, nonfiction and poems), Bobby McCray (professional football player), Carlton “Scooter” McCray (professional basketball player), Rodney Duncan McCray (professional baseball player), Larry McCray (singer and musician - guitar), Prentice McCray (professional football player) and Lane McCray (singer and theater performer).