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Ferry Family History

Ferry Surname 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


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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 1891 there were 321 Ferry families living in London. This was about 25% of all the recorded Ferry's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Ferry families in 1891.
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.
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What did your Ferry ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Ferry. 20% of Ferry men worked as a General Labourer and 74% of Ferry women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Ferry were Cabinet Maker and Incapacitated.

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 1939

  • General Labourer
    20%
  • Farm Labourer
    7%
  • Builders Labourer
    6%
  • Cabinet Maker
    6%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    74%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    4%
  • Unpaid Household Duties
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    2%

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 UK 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 UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Ferry immigration records

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.

View all Ferry military records

You've only scratched the surface of Ferry family history

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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

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Ferry ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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