Scottish and English: topographic name for someone who lived by
an enclosure, Middle English hay(e), heye (Old English
(ge)hæg, which after the Norman Conquest became confused
with the related Old French term haye ‘hedge’, of Germanic
origin). Alternatively, it may be a habitational name from any of
various places named with this word, including Les Hays and La Haye in
Normandy. The Old French and Middle English word was used in
particular to denote an enclosed forest. Compare Haywood. This
name was taken to Ireland (County Wexford) by the Normans.Scottish and English: nickname for a tall man, from Middle English
hay, hey ‘tall’, ‘high’ (Old English heah).Scottish and English: from the medieval personal name Hay,
which represented in part the Old English byname Heah
‘tall’, in part a short form of the various compound names with the
first element heah ‘high’.French: topographic name from
a masculine form of Old French haye ‘hedge’, or a habitational
name from Les Hays, Jura, or Le Hay, Seine-Maritime.Spanish: topographic name from haya ‘beech tree’
(ultimately derived from Latin fagus).German:
occupational name from Middle High German heie ‘guardian’,
‘custodian’ (see Hayer).Dutch and Frisian: variant of
Haye 1.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
1,049,473
Historical Documents & Family Trees with Hay
The information for this chart came from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry.co.uk.
You can find out where the majority of the Hay families were living before
they immigrated to the U.S and learn where to focus your search for foreign records.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
port of arrival, and destination.
Starting a family tree at Ancestry is not only the easiest way to organise, preserve
and share your family history, it's also a direct link to missing information about
your roots.