Contents [hide]

Fay History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Fay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Ireland

Etymology of Fay

What does the name Fay mean?

The region of ancient France known as Auvergne, is where the name Fay was born. Fay was a name for someone who lived near a grove of beech trees. It is associated with the Auvergne region of France, on the Massíf Central, which is located in south-central France.

Early Origins of the Fay family

The surname Fay was first found in Auvergne, a historic province located in south-central France.

Early History of the Fay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fay research. Another 454 words (32 lines of text) covering the years 1145, 1220, 1309, 1360, 1393, 1400, 1500, 1669, 1674, 1700, 1709, 1731, 1757, 1764, 1806 and 1814 are included under the topic Early Fay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fay Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Fay some of which are Fay, Fait, Fais, Faie, Faite, Faies, Fez, Fée, Faye, De Fay, De Fait, De Fais, De Faie, De Faies, De Fez, De Fée, De Fé, Fé, De Faye and many more.

Early Notables of the Fay family

Notable amongst the family was

Claude-Florimond De Fay, Captain of the Ponthieu Regiment during the 1700's
Jacques de la Faye was a 17th-18th century French writer whose Defensio Religionis ('Defense of Religion') a 251-page critique of the pantheism of John Toland, was published at Utrecht by G. Broedelet...
Jean-François Leriget de La Faye (1674-1731) was a French diplomat, wealthy landowner and art collector, poet, and member of the Académie française for a single year. He was at one time a musketeer

Fay Ranking

In the United States, the name Fay is the 2,277^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Fay is ranked the 2,488^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,500 - 3,000 people with that name. 2

Fay migration to the United States +

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Fay has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Fay were

Fay Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Henry Fay, who arrived in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1655 3
Tho Fay, who arrived in Virginia in 1655 3

Fay Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johann Conrad Fay, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 3
Simon Fay, who settled in Maryland in 1767

Fay Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Luke Fay, who arrived in New York, NY in 1815 3
Andrew Fay, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 3
Patrick Fay, who arrived in New York in 1819 3
William Fay, who arrived in New York in 1819 3
Lawrence Fay, who landed in New York in 1819 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fay migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Fay Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Henry E. Fay U.E. who settled in Carleton [Saint John City], New Brunswick c. 1784 4

Fay Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mr. Dennis Fay, aged 16 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "John Bolton" departing 13th April 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 10th June 1847 but he died on board 5
Mr. Hugh Fay, aged 40 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Blenheim" departing 16th June 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 29th July 1847 but he died on board 5
Mr. James Fay who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Princess Royal" departing 5th May 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 16th June 1847 but he died on board 5
Mr. John Fay who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Princess Royal" departing 5th May 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 16th June 1847 but he died on board 5
Mr. Luke Fay who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "George" departing 13th April 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 12th June 1847 but he died on board 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fay migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Fay Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr.John Fay, (b. 1788), aged 31, Irish convict who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for bad notes, transported aboard the "Bencoolen" on 24th April 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia before being transferred to Tasmania via the "Admiral Cockburn" 6
Mr. Charles Fay, British Convict who was convicted in Southampton, Hampshire, England for life for machine breaking, transported aboard the "Eleanor" on 26th June 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
John Fay, English convict from Southampton, who was transported aboard the "Andromeda" on November 13, 1832, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8
Miss Mary Fay, (b. 1816), aged 21, Irish laundress who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Diamond" on 29th November 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Bridget Fay, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Inconstant" in 1849 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fay migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Fay Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Anthony Fay, (b. 1837), aged 25, Irish farm labourer, from County Cavan travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen of Mersey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 20th October 1862 11
Mr. Teddy Fay, (b. 1844), aged 22, British labourer travelling from London aboard the ship "John Temperley" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st June 1866 12

Contemporary Notables of the name Fay (post 1700) +

Dorothy Fay (1915-2003), born Dorothy Alice Fay Southworth, an American actress mainly known for her appearances in Western movies
Meagen Fay (b. 1957), American actress, known for her work on Ohara (1987-1988), Life With Louie (1995-1998) and Malcolm in the Middle (2002-2004)
Paul B. Fay (1918-2009), United States Secretary of the Navy, a close confidant of President John F. Kennedy
Peter Thorp Fay (1929-2021), American jurist, Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Judge Edgar Stewart Fay, American Circuit Judge
Rick Fay (1926-1999), American clarinetist
Peter W. Fay (1924-2004), American historian
Ming Fay, American sculptor
Larry Fay (1888-1933), American businessperson
Jonathan Fay, American computer scientist
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Fay family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. Thomas Joseph Fay (d. 1912), aged 30, English Greaser from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 13

USS Arizona

Mr. Lawrence E. Fay, American Gunner's Mate Third Class working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking 14

Sources +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 75)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bencoolen
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eleanor
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 27) Andromeda voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1832 with 186 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/andromeda/1832
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 1st July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Diamond
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The INCONSTANT the Voyage - 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Inconstant.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html