The Hoy surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,196 people carried this name — #3,855 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 32,100 people counted. That is down 3% from 9,522 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Hoy surname
Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó hEochaidh (“descendant of Eochaid”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hoy» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 15 births for the Hoy name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “9 in Antrim and 2 in Down.”
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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 65 people named Hoy.
4 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Moselle.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
21 people named Hoy have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 80 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 2 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Opole.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In print
Hoy in American newspapers,
1851–1909.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,641,534 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Hoy,
with a public archive behind them.
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James Hoy 1837–1908 -
James Hoy 1837–1908 -
Elizabeth Hoy d. 1982 · writer
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Elizabeth Hoy d. 1982 · writer
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Reginald Jonathan Hoy d. 1963 · librarian
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Thomas Hoy 1659–1718 · physician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Hoy.
- Houze 899 · U.S. census
- Hove 2,041 · U.S. census
- Hovhannisyan 637 · U.S. census
- Hovsepian 1,060 · U.S. census
- Howald 619 · U.S. census
- Howard 264,826 · U.S. census
- Hoyer 3,589 · U.S. census
- Hoyos 3,694 · U.S. census
- Hu 19,999 · U.S. census
- Hua 6,939 · U.S. census
- Huan 248 · U.S. census
- Huang 72,328 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Hoy 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.