Fay (surname)

The first and oldest origin is locational, stemming from the Old French "fage", which is derived from the Latin "Fagus", referring to a "place of beech trees".

The Viscounts De La Faye and Du Fai, from whom the later variants stem, originated in Sainte-Honorine-du-Fay in Normandy.

The first recorded appearance of the name in England was Radulphus de Fae, who was granted a manor extension in Surrey by Henry II in 1154.

[2] The first appearance in Ireland was Richard de Fae, a knight who settled in the Lordship of Meath in 1219.

[3] The Norman-derived variant of Fay is the most common origin of the name in Ireland, and is predominantly found in counties Westmeath, Cavan and Monaghan.