Gay Family History
Gay Name Meaning
English and French: nickname for a lighthearted or cheerful
person, from Middle English, Old French gai. In Middle English
the term could also mean ‘wanton’, ‘lascivious’ and this sense may lie
behind the surname in some instances.English (of Norman
origin): habitational name from places in Normandy called Gaye, from
an early proprietor bearing a Germanic personal name cognate with
Wade.probably from the Catalan personal name
Gai (Latin Gaius), or in some cases a nickname from
Catalan gay ‘cheerful’.Variant of German Gau.North German: from a Frisian personal name Gay.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
881,890
Historical Documents & Family Trees with Gay
Name Distribution of Gay Families
MAP:
England & Wales
Scotland
Number of Gay families
 339 - 675  114 - 338 |
 1 - 113  |
from the 1891 England and Wales Census Data
Number of Gay families
|
93 - 183 32 - 92 |
1 - 31 |
from the 1891 Scotland Census Data
Gay census records
You can see how Gay families moved over time by selecting different Census years.
Census records can tell you little-known facts about your ancestors such as birthplace, occupation and value of personal estate.
View all Gay census records
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Gay Family Origin
Gay Emigration Information (US)
Click on a circle in the chart to view Gay emigration records
You can find out when most of the Gay families immigrated
to the United States.
You can focus your search to emigration records dating from that era.
Emigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
port of arrival and destination.
View all Gay emigration records >
from the New York Passenger Lists
Gay Emigration Information (AU)
Click on a circle in the chart to view Gay emigration records
You can find out when most of the Gay families immigrated
to Australia.
You can focus your search to emigration records dating from that era.
Emigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
port of arrival and destination.
View all Gay emigration records >
from the Australian Convict Transportation Registers 1787-1868
Gay Family Occupations
from 1881 UK Census Data
Gay census records
Census records can offer a lot of little known facts about your Gay ancestors, such as occupation.
Occupation can tell you about your ancestors' social status and economic status.
View all Gay census records >
Military Service by Gay
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