Ray is a common surname in India, and is also found in many English-speaking countries. In India, the same name is also sometimes spelled Roy, and comes from the same root as Raj, which is also the root of the Latin rex (king), English reign and royal, etc. The English surname may come from the same root, probably via French roi; it can also come from a Middle English term meaning a female roe deer, or from the place-names Rye and Wray, among other possible roots. Variations on the surname also appear elsewhere in the world. Some notable people with this surname are:
- Adil Ray
- Aldo Ray
- Allan Ray
- Amuro Ray
- Amy Ray
- Andrew Ray
- Blaine Ray
- Brian Ray
- Charles Lee Ray
- Charlie Ray
- Chris Ray
- Clifford Ray
- Danny Ray
- David R. Ray
- Dave "Snaker" Ray
- Dixy Lee Ray
- Dorothy Jean Ray, historian of folk art
- Elise Ray
- Elizabeth Ray
- Elmer Ray
- Fred Olen Ray
- Gabrielle Ray
- Gene Ray
- Gene Anthony Ray
- Greg Ray
- James Ray
- James B. Ray
- James Earl Ray, who killed Martin Luther King
- James Ray (rock musician)
- James Ray (singer)
- Janisse Ray
- Jean Ray, Belgian writer
- John Ray
- Johnnie Ray
- Johnny Ray
- Jonah Ray, American comedian
- Karen B. Ray
- Ken Ray
- Lisa Ray
- Little Ray
- Man Ray
- Mike Ray
- Nicholas Ray
- Ola Ray
- Pratibha Ray, Indian writer
- Rachael Ray
- Ray brothers
- Reginald Ray
- Rex Ray
- Richie Ray
- Ricky Ray
- Rob Ray
- Robert D. Ray
- Robert Ray (Australian politician) (born 1947)
- Robin Ray
- Satyajit Ray, a famous Indian film director
- Scottie Ray
- Shawn Ray
- Siddhartha Shankar Ray
- Stephanie Ray
- Stevie Ray, American wrestler Lane Huffman
- Sukumar Ray, a Bengali nonsense poet, story writer and playwright
- Tanika Ray
- Ted Ray (comedian)
- Ted Ray (golfer)
- Thomas S. Ray
- Tony Ray-Jones
- Upendrakishore Ray
- Wayne Ray
- William Hallett Ray
- Arundhati Roy
- Indra Lal Roy
