Surname Carway - Meaning and Origin
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Carway: What does the surname Carway mean?
The last name Carway is a shortened version of the name Caraways. Caraways is an English surname, which is derived from an old term referring to someone who lived by, or dwelled near, a caraway plant. Caraway is a biennial herb native to western Asia, Northern Africa and Europe, and its scientific name is Carum Carvi. Its leaves, root, and fruits, which are eaten in different parts of the world, are known for their distinctive flavor.
The name Carway is thought to have originated in Old English, although there are records of it being a part of Welsh and Irish families as well. It is found predominately in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and North America. It has a variety of spelling variations, including Caraway, Caroway, Carrou, and Carrowe.
The Carway name is traditionally associated with a smallholding or a small farm, suggesting that early Carways were enterprising farmers or perhaps tenant farmers who owned and managed a small patch of land for planting and harvesting their own crops. The name might also have been a location-specific name, indicating a place where Carway plants grew in abundance.
Regardless of the origin of the name, the Carways were an industrious, pioneering family who settled and flourished in many countries around the world. They are hardworking, innovative people, and one of their most precious assets is their strong family connection. The Carway name and its many variations has been passed down through generations, and it is still carried today by proud families around the world.
Order DNA origin analysisCarway: Where does the name Carway come from?
The last name Carway is most commonly found in the United Stated primarily in the southeastern region. The highest concentration of Carway can be found in South Carolina, with many other scattered occurrences found in North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Maryland. It is also found in various other states including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. According to the US Social Security Administration, Carway is a relatively uncommon surname, ranking 6,430 in popularity as of the 2000 census.
Carway is an anglicized variant of the German or Dutch surname “Kerwe” or “Kerwel” derived from the German word “Kirchweih” meaning “church festival.” The origins of the surname start with the first migration of Germanic peoples who settled in the southeastern United States, especially in South Carolina in the 1700’s. It is possible that some of the Carway ancestors arrived in the US at earlier times, fleeing religious persecution in Europe.
Data from Ancestry.com reveals that most of the Carway ancestors in the US trace back to South Carolina. It is possible that the surname Carway was adopted from Kerwe or Kerwel as a result of the anglicization of German surnames in the US in the late 1700s or early 1800s.
Variations of the surname Carway
The surname Carway has many variants and spellings, as well as associated surnames of the same origin. Common variants for this surname include Caraway and Caroway, both of which are sometimes found with additional letters such as “Carraway” or “Caroweigh” in various records. In some cases, the spelling has been changed over the years, for example “Carraway” may have been shortened to its current form “Caraway”.
Additional spellings for Carway include Careway, Car Kay, Karraway and Carrawey. Other surname variants of the same origin, such as those with a single “A”, including Caraway, Careaway, Karrway and Karway, can also be seen. Surnames with similar sounds or spellings that may be associated with Carway include Coraway, Carwell, Currall, Charman, and Corell.
Finally, certain related surnames may be surnames that are derived from the same given name, e.g. Curry, Corry, Cawley, Charley, and Carlin. These names often have a similar sound or meaning to the original surname while in some cases they are simply diminutives of it. For people with the Carway surname, it is known that their roots are in early English-speaking countries and as such, all the variations mentioned above would have been used in the same context, although some might have been used more widely than the others due to regional preferences.
Famous people with the name Carway
- Chely Wright: Singer-songwriter
- Georgia Carway: British Actress
- Tyra Carway: Football Player
- Krystal Carway: Television Personality
- Amanda Carway: Former Miss Rhode Island
- Ed Carway: Olympic Fencer
- Warren Carway: Former NFL Player
- Macy Carway: YouTube Star
- Chris Carway: Award-Winning TV Producer
- Nick Carway: Rapper and Producer