Say Family History

English: of Norman origin a habitational name from Sai in Orne or Say in Indre France perhaps so called from a Gaulish personal name Saius + the Latin locative suffix -acum (see also French name 3 below). English: nickname perhaps for someone who made or sold say a type of woollen cloth or for an habitual wearer of clothes made of this material from Middle English sai(e) ‘say’ (Old French saie from Latin saga plural of sagum ‘military cloak’). See also Sayer.

French (southern): topographic name from saix (from Latin saxum) ‘rock’ or a habitational name from a place called with this word for example Say in Loire Saix in Tarn and Vienne Le Saix in Hautes-Alpes or Les Saix in Isère.

Burmese (Karen): from a personal name usually forming part of a compound name from say ‘silver’. — Note: Since Karens do not have hereditary surnames this name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.

Cambodian: written សាយ corresponding to the Khmer word of various possible meanings including ‘(to be) prolific’.

Turkish: ornamental name nickname or topographic name from mostly regional say meaning e.g. ‘flat very thin stone’ and ‘companion’. Amerindian (Guatemala): Mayan name from a term denoting a kind of small fish.