The Hay surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 18,029 people carried this name — #2,005 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 16,400 people counted. That is up 1% from 17,824 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Hay surname
From Middle English Hay.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hay» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 1,621 people named Hay.
49 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 62 départements, most often Deux-Sèvres.
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 Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 6 births for the Hay name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 63 people named Hay 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 City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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
54 people named Hay live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 32 people named Hay 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 Luxembourg Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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
411 people named Hay are counted in Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
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 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Hay in American newspapers,
1905.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,068,847 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Hay,
with a public archive behind them.
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Roger Hay d. 1423 · politician
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Adam Hay d. 1755 · politician
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John Hay, 3rd Lord Hay of Yester d. 1543
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Elizabeth Barlow d. 1664
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William Hay d. 1635
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Janet Hay d. 1424
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Hay.
- Hauter 557 · U.S. census
- Havard 3,495 · U.S. census
- Havas 276 · U.S. census
- Havel 2,066 · U.S. census
- Haverland 688 · U.S. census
- Hawkins 139,751 · U.S. census
- Hayat 778 · U.S. census
- Haye 1,558 · U.S. census
- Hayer 651 · U.S. census
- Hayes 194,246 · U.S. census
- Hayon 146 · U.S. census
- Hays 34,191 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Hay 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.