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Hoy Family History

Hoy Surname Meaning

English (Essex): nickname for a sailor from Middle Dutch hoey ‘cargo ship’. Irish: variant of Hoey.

Danish (Høy): nickname for a tall person from høj ‘high’. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 許 see Xu.

Chinese: possibly from Cantonese form of some Chinese names 海 (meaning ‘sea’) or 開 (meaning ‘open’) or 凱 (meaning ‘victorious’) or 楷 (meaning ‘model’).

These names were monosyllabic personal names or part of disyllabic personal names of some early Chinese immigrants in the US.

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


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Where is the Hoy family from?

You can see how Hoy families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Hoy family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Hoy families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 39 Hoy families living in Pennsylvania. This was about 29% of all the recorded Hoy's in USA. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Hoy families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Hoy 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 Hoy ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Teacher were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Hoy. 16% of Hoy men worked as a Laborer and 9% of Hoy women worked as a Teacher. Some less common occupations for Americans named Hoy were Truck Driver and Housekeeper.

View Census Data for Hoy | 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

  • Laborer
    16%
  • Farmer
    14%
  • Salesman
    6%
  • Truck Driver
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Teacher
    9%
  • Clerk
    7%
  • Housewife
    7%
  • Housekeeper
    7%

What Hoy family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 121,000 census records available for the last name Hoy. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Hoy census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Hoy

Passenger Lists

There are 12,000 immigration records available for the last name Hoy. 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.

View all Hoy immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 15,000 military records available for the last name Hoy. For the veterans among your Hoy ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Hoy military records

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