Origin | |
---|---|
Word/name | French, Irish |
Meaning | derived from the Old French " fage " or derived from Classical Irish " Ó Fathaigh" and " Ó Fiaich" |
Region of origin | Normandy, Ireland |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | de Fay, du Fay, Fahey, Fahy, Faye, Fee, Foy, Fey , Fye. |
Fay is an Irish surname that also arose independently in France. There are different theories about the origin and meaning of the surname.
The name may have originally derived from the Norman surname "de Fae", which has several possible origins. The first and oldest origin is locational, stemming from the Old French "fage", which is derived from the Latin " Fagus ", referring to a "place of beech trees". Other claims are that Fae stems from the Old French "fae", meaning magical, enchanted, or otherworldly, or from the Anglo-French "fei" meaning faithfulness to a trust or promise; loyalty to a person; honesty, truthfulness. [1] The name was introduced to England and Ireland in the 12th and 13th centuries through the Norman conquest and settlement of both regions.
The Viscounts De La Faye and Du Fai, from whom the later variants stem, originated in Sainte-Honorine-du-Fay in Normandy. The first recorded appearance of the name in England was Radulphus de Fae, who was granted a manor extension in Surrey by Henry II in 1154. [2] The first appearance in Ireland was Richard de Fae, a knight who settled in the Lordship of Meath in 1219. [3]
The Norman-derived variant of Fay is the most common origin of the name in Ireland, and is predominantly found in counties Westmeath, Cavan and Monaghan. However, the surname also arose independently in Ireland from the Anglicisation of two Gaelic surnames. [4]
In Ireland, Fay may also represent Anglicised forms of the Gaelic surnames Ó Fiaich meaning 'descendant of Fiach' (a nickname meaning 'raven', but is sometimes mistranslated as 'Hunt' as a result of confusion with fiach, the modern spelling of fiadhach 'hunt') and Ó Fathaigh meaning 'descendant of Fathadh' (a personal name derived from fothadh 'base' or 'foundation', but is sometimes mistranslated as Green as a result of erroneous association with faithche 'lawn'). [5]
The Serer surname Faye may also be spelled as Fay in Serer proper. It is unrelated to the Irish and French surname and pronounced differently.
Notable people with the surname include:
Akins is a Scottish surname and northern Irish family name.
Cochrane is a surname with multiple independent origins, two Scottish and one Irish. One of the Scottish names derives from a place in Scotland; the Irish surname and the other Scottish surname are both anglicisations of surnames from the Irish language and Scottish Gaelic respectively.
Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion". As a surname, Neil is traced back to Niall of the Nine Hostages who was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill and MacNeil kindred. Most authorities cite the meaning of Neil in the context of a surname as meaning "champion".
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Broderick is a surname of early medieval English origin, and subsequently the Anglicised versions of names of Irish and Welsh origin.
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Barry is both a given name and an Irish and West African surname. The given name can be an Anglicised form of some Irish personal names or shortened form of Barrington, while the surname has numerous etymological origins, and is derived from both place names and personal names.
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Norman is both a surname and a given name. The surname has multiple origins including English, Irish, Scottish, German, French, Norwegian, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Jewish American. The given name Norman is mostly of English origin, though in some cases it can be an Anglicised form of a Scottish Gaelic personal name.
Fay is a primarily feminine English given name meaning fairy. Alternately, it is a diminutive of Faith. It has been in use in English-speaking countries since the 1800s.
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Faye is a typical Serer surname.
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