Spanish and southern French (Occitan): from Spanish and Old
French rey ‘king’ (from Latin rex, genitive
regis), which could have been applied any of in numerous ways:
it may have denoted someone in the service of a king; it may have been
from the title of someone in a brotherhood; or a nickname for someone
who behaved in a regal fashion or who had earned the title in some
contest of skill or by presiding over festivities.English:
variant spelling of Ray 1, cognate with 1.German: from a
short form of a Germanic personal name formed with ragin
‘counsel’.German: nickname for a leader of dancing or singing,
from Middle Low German rei(e) ‘(line) dance’, ‘(satirical)
song’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
111,825
Historical Documents & Family Trees with Rey
The information for this chart came from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry.com.
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Click on a circle in the chart to view Rey birth and death records
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