Curry
A surname with several possible roots, including Irish Gaelic and Cornish place-name origins.
The #436 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,121 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Curry can arise from more than one source. In England, especially in Somerset and Cornwall, it may be a locational surname from places called Curry, including Cury in Cornwall and the Curry parishes in Somerset. In Irish usage, it can also be an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Coirrghe or related forms, with the name often reduced over time to Curry, Currie, or Corry.
History
English records show Curry as a surname tied to place-names, and one 19th-century source specifically connected it with the Cornish parish of Cury. In Ireland, the name is also found as an Anglicized Gaelic surname, so modern bearers may descend from either an English locational line or an Irish family. The spelling Currie is especially common in Scotland and Ireland, while Curry is a widespread later English spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
At least one old surname dictionary linked Curry to a Cornish place-name thought to mean something like 'the hill with the cross' or 'cross in the meadow.'
From the historical record
“34 PATEONYMICA CURRY, CURY, CORY. From Cury or Curye, a parish in Kerrier Hundred, found written Curytowne and Curyton ; from crou-dun, the hill with the cross ; or crou' todn, the cross in the green meadow. CUSDEN, CUSDIN. From caBa-den, the dirty valley. CUSS. See Coode. CUSWATH. See Coswarth. CUTTELL, CUTTILL.…”
— Patronymica Cornu-Britannica; or, the etymology of Cornish surnamesNotable people named Curry
- Stephen Curry (b. 1988)
- Tim Curry (1946–2026)
- Aquaman
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.