The Bay surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,350 people carried this name — #5,477 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,500 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (6,346).
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 940 people named Bay.
50 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 59 départements, most often Haute-Loire.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 918 people named Bay live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
256 people named Bay live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 205 people named Bay live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
311 people named Bay are counted in Norway and Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Bay in American newspapers,
1913–1927.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,731,340 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Bay,
with a public archive behind them.
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David Ludwig Bay 1749–1832 · politician -
Rudolph Bay 1791–1856 · composer -
Mihály Bay 1645–1717 · diplomat
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András Bay 1660–1750 · diplomat
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Ferenc Bay 1747–1820 · politician
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David Rudolf Bay 1762–1820 · merchant
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Bay.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Bay is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.