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Bay Family History

Bay Surname Meaning

English, French, and Walloon: nickname for someone with chestnut or auburn hair from Middle English, Old French bay, bai ‘reddish brown’ (from Latin badius, used originally of horses). English: from the Middle English personal name Baye, Old English Bēaga (masculine) or Bēage (feminine), both from bēag ‘ring’.

English: topographic name from Middle English bei ‘ring, bend’ (Old English bēag) used topographically for features such as river-bends. German and Dutch: from the ancient Germanic personal name Baio.

South German (Swabia): topographic name from Bai ‘small ravine, hollow’, also ‘reed’. In some cases also a Germanized form of Sorbian Baj: nickname or occupational name from Upper Sorbian baj ‘storyteller’. Compare Bey.

Danish and Norwegian: from a short form of German Bayer or from baygh, originally a loanword from French denoting a type of fabric.

Turkish: ornamental name or nickname from bay ‘rich man’, a word which also acquired meaning ‘gentleman’, analogue to that of the unrelated word bey (see Bey). Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 馬, see Ma.

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


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Where is the Bay family from?

You can see how Bay families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Bay family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Bay families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 27 Bay families living in Ohio. This was about 34% of all the recorded Bay's in USA. Ohio had the highest population of Bay families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Bay surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Bay ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farmer and Teacher were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Bay. 18% of Bay men worked as a Farmer and 9% of Bay women worked as a Teacher. Some less common occupations for Americans named Bay were Truck Driver and Seamstress.

View Census Data for Bay | 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 Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farmer
    18%
  • Laborer
    14%
  • Salesman
    6%
  • Truck Driver
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Teacher
    9%
  • Housewife
    8%
  • Waitress
    7%
  • Seamstress
    6%

What Bay family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 50,000 census records available for the last name Bay. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bay census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Bay

Passenger Lists

There are 8,000 immigration records available for the last name Bay. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 33,000 military records available for the last name Bay. For the veterans among your Bay ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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