Cary Name Meaning, Origin and Heraldry

The last name Cary is a variant form of Carey, a well-known Irish family name. At root, the name means “Descendant of Ciardha ("dark")”. Cary drops the “e” of Carey, a shortening that clerks often made. Regional accents shaped spellings long before dictionaries fixed them.

The same family of names includes Keary and O'Carey.

Heraldry is personal: arms associated with the Carey surname were borne by specific families, and sharing the name does not mean sharing the blazon. For the full story, order the Cary surname pack.