| Frequency Comparisons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Rank | Frequency % | Per million people | |
| United States | ||||
| United States (Current snapshot) | 17,824 | 1853 | 0.007 | 66 |
| United States (1880 census) | 6,295 | 968 | 0.013 | 126 |
| Change since 1880 | +11529 | -885 | -0.006 | -60 |
| Other Countries | ||||
| Australia | 4,159 | 357 | 0.025 | 254 |
| United Kingdom | 11,603 | 513 | 0.025 | 253 |
| Top States for HAY by Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total | Rank in State | Frequency % | Per million people |
| California | 1,429 | 2288 | 0.004 | 42 |
| Texas | 1,218 | 2036 | 0.006 | 58 |
| Florida | 1,213 | 1749 | 0.008 | 76 |
| Ohio | 1,065 | 1294 | 0.009 | 94 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,047 | 1415 | 0.009 | 85 |
| Top States for HAY by Frequency | ||||
| State | Total | Rank in State | Frequency % | Per million people |
| South Dakota | 114 | 746 | 0.015 | 151 |
| Kentucky | 580 | 1037 | 0.014 | 144 |
| Washington | 655 | 1120 | 0.011 | 111 |
| Oregon | 367 | 1164 | 0.011 | 107 |
| Louisiana | 440 | 1480 | 0.010 | 98 |
'A figure of zero indicates that we don't have data for this name (usually because it's quite uncommon and our stats don't go down that far). It doesn't mean that there's no-one with that name at all!
For less common surnames, the figures get progressively less reliable the fewer holders of that name there are. This data is aggregated from several public lists, and some stats are interpolated from known values. The margin of error is well over 100% at the rarest end of the table!
For less common surnames, the frequency and "per million" values may be 0 even though there are people with that name. That's because they represent less than one in a million of the population, which ends up as 0 after rounding.
It's possible for a surname to gain in rank and/or total while being less common per million people (or vice versa) as there are now more surnames in the USA as a result of immigration. In mathematical terms, the tail has got longer, with a far larger number of less common surnames.
Figures for top states show firstly the states where most people called HAY live. This obviously tends to be biased towards the most populous states. The second set of figures show where people called HAY represent the biggest proportion of the population. So, in this case, there are more people called HAY in California than any other state, but you are more likely to find a HAY by picking someone at random in South Dakota than anywhere else.
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Language of origin: Gaelic
Ethnic origin: Celtic
Religious origin: Christian
Data for religion and/or language relates to the culture in which the HAY surname originated. It does not necessarily have any correlation with the language spoken, or religion practised, by the majority of current American citizens with that name.
Data for ethnic origin relates to the region and country in which the HAY surname originated. It does not necessarily have any correlation with the ethnicity of the majority of current American citizens with that name.
| Classification | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific | 460 | 2.58 |
| White (Hispanic) | 294 | 1.65 |
| Mixed Race | 230 | 1.29 |
| Native American/Alaskan | 80 | 0.45 |
| White (Caucasian) | 15,548 | 87.23 |
| Black/African American | 1,214 | 6.81 |
Ethnic distribution data shows the number and percentage of people with the HAY surname who reported their ethnic background as being in these broad categories in the most recent national census.
A hedge, an inclosure, to inclose, fence in, a protection, a place of safety. In Dutch, Haag; Sax., Hege; Ger., Heck; Danish, Hekke; Swedish, Hagn; Fr., Haie; Welsh, Cae; Gaelic, Ca; Cor. Br., Hay. "In the reign of Kenneth III. (says Douglass), about 980, the Danes having invaded Scotland, were encountered by that king, near Loncarty, in Perthshire. The Scots at first gave way, and fled through a narrow pass, where they were stopped by a countryman of great strength and courage, and his two sons, with no other weapons than the yokes of their plows. Upbraiding the fugitives for their cowardice, he succeeded in rallying them; the battle was renewed, and the Danes totally discomfited. It is said, that after the victory was obtained, the old man, lying on the ground wounded and fatigued, cried 'Hay, Hay,' which word became the surname of his posterity. The king, as a reward for that signal service, gave him as much land in the Carse of Gowrie as a falcon should fly over before it settled; and a falcon being accordingly let off, flew over an extent of ground six miles in length, afterward called Errol, and lighted on a stone still called Falconstone or Hawkstone."
Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.
HAY. A-Sax. haeg, Fr. haie, a hedge, and that which it encloses— a field or park. The map of Normandy shows many localities called La Haie, and from one of these, doubtless, came, in early Norman times, if not actually at the Conquest, the family once eminent in England and still so in Scotland. The name Avas written De Haia and De la Hay. KingHenrj'I. gave to Robert de Haia the lordship of Halnaker, co. Sussex, and so early as the close of the XII. cent. William de H. passed into Scotland and held the office of pincerna regis or king's butler, temp. William the Lion. From his two sons descend Hay, marquis of Tweeddale, and Hay, earl of Errol, hereditary lord high constable of Scotland. Tliese are well-ascertained facts, but tradition assigns a difterent origin both to name and family. It asserts that in 980 a yeoman called John de Luz and his two sons by their prowess reinvigorated the anny of Kenneth IIL, when they were on the point of succumbing to the Danes. They took the yokes from the oxen with which they were iloughing. and so belaboured the invaders as to drive them from the field, amidst shouts of Hay! Hay! Tlie king in reward for these services gave the yeoman as much laud as a falcon could fly round (the lands of Loncarty near Fife), and in memory of the event the family adopted a falcon for their crest, two husbandmen with ox-yokes for their supporters, and Hay for their surname !
Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.
The following names have similar spellings or pronunciations as HAY.
This does not necessarily imply a direct relationship between the names, but may indicate names that could be mistaken for this one when written down or misheard.
Matches are generated automatically by a combination of Soundex, Metaphone and Levenshtein matching.