Torrey
A surname most likely tied to a hill, tower, or rocky place, with Scottish and Irish place-name connections.
The #6,739 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,700 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Torrey is usually explained as a locational surname, coming from place-names built on elements meaning “tower,” “hill,” or “rock.” The excerpts link it especially with Scottish places called Torry and with Irish place-names such as Tory Island, while one older source also connects it with French/Latin forms meaning “of the tower.” The name may therefore have arisen independently in more than one place, rather than from a single family line.
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers treated Torrey as related to Torry, Tory, and Torre, and often pointed to Scottish localities in Kirkcudbrightshire and Fife or to Tory Island off the coast of Donegal. The spelling with -ey is an English-style surname form that appears alongside several close variants. In the United States, Torrey became established as a relatively uncommon surname and also appears as a given name in some families.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One of the cited Victorian etymologists glossed Torrey as essentially “of the tower,” showing how often surnames from this family were linked to height, fortification, or rocky ground.
From the historical record
“and p.n. Torry, Torrie, Torrey, Tory. N. ]?6ri; a n.n. (a young bull) ; A.S. Thorri ; FI. Thorez ; Fr. Thouret ; p.n. Prot. ref., Lond. 1618. Turry, a castle and barony, Norm.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)