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Bey Family History

Bey Surname Meaning

North German and Dutch: from the personal name Beye or Baye vowel variants of Boye. Germanized form of Sorbian Baj: nickname or occupational name from Upper Sorbian baj ‘storyteller’. Compare Bay.

French: habitational name from (Le) Bey the name of several places in eastern France in Ain, Meurthe-et-Moselle, or Saône-et-Loire. French (Burgundy): topographic name for someone who lived by a mill stream from a regional variant of bief ‘mill-race’.

Muslim (mainly Algeria, also common among African Americans): from the Turkish title bey, a younger form of beg (see Beg), denoting a nobleman serving as a local administrator in the Ottoman Empire. It was also a high military rank in the Ottoman army and also widely used as a title of respect for a man (after a man's name).

See also 6 below Agha and Pasha. Turkish: ornamental name or nickname from bey, a Turkish title (see 5 above).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Bey family from?

You can see how Bey families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Bey family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Bey families were found in USA in 1920. In 1891 there were 21 Bey families living in London. This was about 26% of all the recorded Bey's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Bey families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Bey surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Bey ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, Unpaid Domestic Duties was the top reported job for people in the United Kingdom named Bey. 100% of Bey women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties.

View Census Data for Bey | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    100%

What Bey family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 11,000 census records available for the last name Bey. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bey census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Bey

Passenger Lists

There are 3,000 immigration records available for the last name Bey. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Bey immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 11,000 military records available for the last name Bey. For the veterans among your Bey ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Bey military records

You've only scratched the surface of Bey family history

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What is the average Bey lifespan?

Between 1950 and 2004, in the United States, Bey life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1957, and highest in 1992. The average life expectancy for Bey in 1950 was 55, and 70 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Bey

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Bey ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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