Fay (surname)

Last updated

Fay
Origin
Word/nameFrench, Irish
Meaningderived 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.

Contents

Origin

French / Norman

Old French "fage", meaning Beech Fagus sylvatica Purpurea JPG4a.jpg
Old French "fage", meaning Beech
Classical Irish "Fiach" meaning Raven Two Raven Fledglings.jpg
Classical Irish "Fiach" meaning Raven

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]

Irish

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]

Other origins

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

Notable people with the surname include:

Performers

Politicians

Others

See also

Related Research Articles

Orders is a surname.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akins</span> Scottish surname and northern Irish family name

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.

Currie is a surname in the English language. The name has numerous origins.

The family name Whelan is an anglicisation of the Irish surname Ó Faoláin. The surname originates from the Middle Irish Úa Faeláin the name of the 10th to 11th century ruling dynasty of the Déisi, a population group inhabiting the area of the modern counties of Waterford and Kilkenny in the early medieval period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayes (surname)</span> Surname list

Hayes is an English language surname. In the United States Census, 1990, Hayes was the 100th most common surname recorded. The oldest record of the surname dates to 1197 in the Eynsham Cartulary of Oxfordshire, where it appears in the form Heise. There are nineteen coats of arms assumed by or granted to individuals with this or a similar surname. Though primarily a surname, "Hayes" sometimes appears as a given name in census records.

Duke is a surname meaning 'the leader' or 'son of Marmaduke'. It is the 856th most common surname in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moore (surname)</span> English-language family name

Moore is a common English-language surname. It was the 19th most common surname in Ireland in 1901 with 15,417 members. It is the 34th most common surname in Australia, 32nd most common in England, and was the 16th most common surname in the United States in 2000.

Broderick is a surname of early medieval English origin, and subsequently the Anglicised versions of names of Irish and Welsh origin.

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 or Finbarr, while the surname has numerous etymological origins, and is derived from both place names and personal names.

Carpenter is a surname. Its use as a forename or middle name is rare. Within the United States, it ranked as the 231st-most common surname as of the 2010 census. The English meaning of carpenter is the occupation of one who makes wooden objects and structures by shaping wood.

McAuliffe or MacAuliffe is a surname of Norse Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Amhlaoibh, meaning "son of Amhlaoibh". The Gaelic name, Amhlaoibh, was derived from the Old Norse personal name Olaf. The surname occurs frequently in Munster, especially northern County Cork, western County Limerick, and eastern County Kerry. The McAuliffes were a sept, related to the McCarthys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly (surname)</span> Surname list

Kelly is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a partially anglicised version of older Irish names and has numerous origins, most notably from the Ui Maine. In some cases it is derived from toponyms located in Ireland and Great Britain; in other cases it is derived from patronyms in the Irish language.

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.

McGurn is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McGeachie</span> Surname list

The surname McGeachie is an Irish and a Scottish surname. In ancient times the family name in Gaelic was Mac or Mag Eachaidh.

Flanagan is a common surname of Irish origin and an Anglicised version of the Irish name Ó Flannagáin which is derived from the word "flann" meaning 'red' or 'ruddy'.

Faye is a typical Serer surname.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faye family</span> African clan

The patronym Faye is one of the typical surnames of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. In French-speaking Senegal and Mauritania, and English-speaking Gambia, the surname is spelled Faye.

Melia is a family name that may originate in the Caucasus state of Georgia, in Italy, or in Ireland. Melia Bergamin. The Georgian name is believed to be derived from the word melia, meaning "fox". Names derived from Melia are Meliava, Meliva, Melua, Meluava or Meladze. The Italian history may date back to early Rome. The Irish origins may be via alterations to the name O'Maille or O'Malley.

References

  1. "Surname Database. Last name: Fay". Surnamedb. Surname Database. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  2. O'Hart, John. "Irish pedigrees; or, The origin and stem of the Irish nation (Volume 2)". ebooksread.com. Library Ireland. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  3. O'Laughlin, Michael (2002). The Book of Irish Families, Great & Small. Irish Genealogical Foundation. ISBN   9780940134096 . Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  4. "Surname Database. Last name: Fay". Surnamedb. Surname Database. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  5. Hanks, Patrick. "Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006". FamilySearch. FamilySearch. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  6. "The Project Gutenberg eBook of the Great Gatsby".