Ray Brown

(male) Short form of Raymond, now also used as an independent given name, especially in North America. In some instances it may represent a transferred use of the surname Ray, which for the most part originated as a nickname, from Old French rei, roi ‘king’ (compare Roy and Leroy).

English, Scottish, and Irish: generally a nickname referring to the color of the hair or complexion, Middle English br(o)un, from Old English brūn or Old French brun. This word is occasionally found in Old English and Old Norse as a personal name or byname. Brun- was also a Germanic name-forming element. Some instances of Old English Brūn as a personal name may therefore be short forms of compound names such as Brūngar, Brūnwine, etc. As a Scottish and Irish name, it sometimes represents a translation of Gaelic Donn. As an American family name, it has absorbed numerous surnames from other languages with the same meaning.