The Slay surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,075 people carried this name — #8,135 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 72,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,937 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Slay surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the sly’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 696 · public domain.

In print

Slay in American newspapers,
1898–1928.

Newspaper page from Fergus County Argus carrying the name Slay
Fergus County Argus 1898-09-21
Newspaper page from The Hattiesburg News carrying the name Slay
The Hattiesburg News 1913-09-17
Newspaper page from Smyrna Times carrying the name Slay
Smyrna Times 1928-10-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 781 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Slay in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1970s.

2,280 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Slay. The most, 472, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 605
Victoria 557
New South Wales 493
South Australia 338
Western Australia 162
Tasmania 116
ACT (Canberra) 6

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Slay.

Who carried it

People named Slay,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Reginald A. Slay d. 1994
  • Frank Slay 1930–2017 · songwriter
  • Gregory Slay 1969–2010 · songwriter

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Slay,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States213 records

213 records of the Slay name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 153
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 36
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 9
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 6
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 3
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Robert Slay

    Born 1909 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; filling station attendant. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1955, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Ronnie Glynn Slay

    Born 1947; from Houston, Texas. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Slay

    Arrived at New York in 1866 aboard the City of Paris from Liverpool, aged 26; merchant.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 213 records for Slay in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia3 records

3 records of the Slay name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Slay

    Arrived in Tasmania in 1852 aboard the Adelaide Packet from Port Phillip.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Thoeodore Slay

    Naturalised in Queensland in 1903.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Theodore Slay

    Naturalised in Queensland in 1903.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Slay name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Francis John William Slay

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record F. J. W. Slay

    Saskatchewan Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Slay.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Slay 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.

See the Slay volume
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