Kay (surname)

This article is about people with the surname Kay. For Kay as a given name, see Kay (disambiguation).
Kay
Pronunciation/ˈkeɪ/
Language(s)English
Origin
Language(s)Old Breton, Welsh, Cornish
Old English
Derivation"cai", "key" (wharf)
"coeg" (key)
Meaning"wharf" or "key"
Other names
Variant form(s)
  • Kaye

Kay is an English surname. It derives from the Old Breton and Welsh cai and the Cornish key meaning "wharf", or from the Old English coeg meaning "key".[1][2] The surname is also a diminutive of MacKay and McKay.[3][4] In England, the Kay(e)s of Lancashire and Yorkshire are believed to be related to the ancient Kaye family of Woodesham, Yorkshire, and there is also a Kay Family Association.[5]

Notable people with this surname include:

  1. ^ "Kaye Name Meaning & Kaye Family History at Ancestry.co.uk®". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  2. ^ "Surname Database: Kaye Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  3. ^ "Kaye - Anglicised Surnames in Ireland". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
  4. ^ Hanks, Patrick (2016). Kaye: The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191781797.
  5. ^ "Kay Family Association UK - Home". kayfamilyassociationuk.com. Retrieved 2023-03-31.