Family name origins & meanings
- Of German origin : possibly a nickname from Middle Low German rāren ‘to roar’.
- Perhaps in some cases an altered spelling of the Walloon French surname Rary, which Debrabandere suggests may be from a French form of the Germanic personal name Rairic, composed of the elements rād ‘counsel’ + rīc ‘power(ful)’.
- Possibly in some cases a shortened form of Irish McCreary.