Kay (surname)
Appearance
Pronunciation | /ˈkeɪ/ |
---|---|
Language(s) | English |
Origin | |
Language(s) | Old Breton, Welsh, Cornish Old English |
Derivation | "cai", "key" (wharf) "coeg" (key) |
Meaning | "wharf" or "key" |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) |
|
Kay is an English surname. It derives from the Old Breton and Welsh cai and the Cornish key meaning "wharf", or from the Old English coeg meaning "key".[1][2] The surname is also a diminutive of MacKay and McKay.[3][4] In England, the Kay(e)s of Lancashire and Yorkshire are believed to be related to the ancient Kaye family of Woodesham, Yorkshire, and there is also a Kay Family Association.[5]
Notable people with this surname include:
- Alan Kay, American computer scientist and visionary
- Alec Kay (1879–1917), Scottish footballer
- Alex J. Kay, British historian
- Andrew Kay, American computer company CEO
- Anthony Kay, American baseball player
- Antony Kay, English footballer (see also Tony Kay below)
- Barnaby Kay, English actor
- Barry Kay, Australian scenery and costume designer; photographer
- Beatrice Kay, American actress
- Ben Kay, English rugby player
- Bernard Kay, British actor
- Billie Kay (born 1989), Australian professional wrestler
- Brian Kay, British singer and conductor
- Connie Kay, American jazz drummer
- Crystal Kay, J-pop singer
- David Kay, American scientist
- Dianne Kay, American actress
- Don Kay (composer), Tasmanian composer
- Dorothy Kay (1886–1964), Irish-born South African artist
- Doug Kay, football coach
- Elizabeth Kay, British writer
- Emma Kay, British artist
- George Frederick Kay (1873–1943), American geologist
- Guy Gavriel Kay, Canadian fantasy writer
- Hadley Kay, Canadian voice actor
- Iain Kay, Zimbabwean farmer and politician
- Jackie Kay, British poet and author
- James Ellsworth De Kay, American zoologist
- James Phillips Kay-Shuttleworth, British physician and politician
- Janet Kay, British singer of Jamaican descent
- Jason Kay, British singer Jay Kay of band Jamiroquai
- John Kay (disambiguation), multiple people
- Joseph Kay (disambiguation), multiple people
- June Kay, American civil rights activist
- Karen Kay (TV personality), British entertainer and mother of Jay Kay
- Kathie Kay, Scottish singer
- Katty Kay (born 1964), British journalist
- Kay Kay, Indian playback singer
- Lesli Kay, American actress
- Leslie Ronald Kay, British executive head of Universities Central Council on Admissions
- Lily E. Kay, historian of science
- Lisa Kay, actress
- Lori Kay, artist
- Manuela Kay, German writer and journalist
- Margaret Kay (c. 1904–1967), Aboriginal Australian museum owner and caretaker of sacred site
- Marshall Kay, American geologist
- Mary Kay (landscape photographer), Greek photographer
- Melody Kay, American actress
- Michael Kay (announcer), American radio and television personality, play-by-play commentator for the New York Yankees
- Michael Howard Kay, British software developer
- Neal Kay, British DJ
- Norman Kay (disambiguation), multiple people
- Paul Kay, American linguist
- Phil Kay, Scottish stand-up comedian
- Peter Kay, British comedian
- Ray Kay, Norwegian film director
- Richard Kay (disambiguation), multiple people
- Robert Kay (disambiguation), multiple people
- Scott Kay, Jewelry Designer
- Sonny Kay, American record label owner
- Susan Kay, British writer
- Terry Kay, American writer
- Tom Kay (footballer, born 1883), English footballer
- Tom Kay (footballer, born 1892), English footballer
- Tony Kay, English footballer (see also Antony Kay above)
- Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth, 1st Baron Shuttleworth
- Ulysses Kay, American composer
- Vernon Kay (born 1974), British television presenter
- Violet McNeish Kay (1914-1971), Scottish artist
- Wendell P. Kay (1913-1986), American attorney and politician
- William Kay (disambiguation), multiple people
- Willie Otey Kay, American dressmaker
See also
- Kay (disambiguation)
- Kay-Shuttleworth
- Mary Kay, cosmetics brand
- Baron Shuttleworth
- Kaye (surname)
References
- ^ "Kaye Name Meaning & Kaye Family History at Ancestry.co.uk®". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
- ^ "Surname Database: Kaye Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
- ^ "Kaye - Anglicised Surnames in Ireland". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ Hanks, Patrick (2016). Kaye: The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191781797.
- ^ "Kay Family Association UK - Home". kayfamilyassociationuk.com. Retrieved 2023-03-31.