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Ferry Family History

Ferry Name Meaning

Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Fearadhaigh ‘descendant of Fearadhach’ a personal name from an adjective derived from fear ‘man’. This surname is also Anglicized Farry . English: metonymic occupational name for a ferryman or a topographic name for someone who lived by a ferry crossing on a river or from a place so named such as Ferrybridge Yorkshire. From Middle English feri(e) ‘ferry’ (Old Norse ferja cognate with Old English ferian ‘to carry’). English: habitational name from Ferryhill Durham recorded as Ferie c. 1125 and Ferye on the Hill in 1316. The place is named with Old English fergen ‘wooded hill’ with the later addition of Middle English hil ‘hill’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Merry, Berry, Perry, Terry, Derry, Ferro, Werry, Jerry, Cherry, Fey

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Ferry family from?

You can see how Ferry families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Ferry family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Ferry families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 38 Ferry families living in Massachusetts. This was about 20% of all the recorded Ferry's in USA. Massachusetts had the highest population of Ferry families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Ferry surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Ferry ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Housewife were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Ferry. 18% of Ferry men worked as a Laborer and 9% of Ferry women worked as a Housewife. Some less common occupations for Americans named Ferry were Clerk and Maid. .

View Census Data for Ferry | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    18%
  • Farmer
    8%
  • Salesman
    6%
  • Clerk
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Housewife
    9%
  • Stenographer
    7%
  • Teacher
    6%
  • Maid
    6%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Ferry family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 92,000 census records available for the last name Ferry. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Ferry census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Ferry

Passenger Lists

There are 13,000 immigration records available for the last name Ferry. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 22,000 military records available for the last name Ferry. For the veterans among your Ferry ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Ferry lifespan?

Between 1942 and 2004, in the United States, Ferry life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1953, and highest in 2003. The average life expectancy for Ferry in 1942 was 48, and 76 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Ferry

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