Cathey
A surname most likely tied to Cathay, the old European name for China, and probably introduced as a nickname or locational-style byname.
The #4,048 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,169 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Cathey is usually explained as deriving from Cathay, the medieval European name for China, ultimately from the Khitan people of northern China. In surname use, this likely began as a byname connected with the word itself rather than a direct ancestral link to China; such names often arose from trade associations, travel, or colorful nickname formation. The form Cathey reflects an English spelling adaptation of that older word.
History
Barber’s surname notes explicitly connect Cathey with Cathay. In English-speaking areas, surnames built from distant place-names or ethnonyms were sometimes used as nicknames and later became hereditary. The modern U.S. surname is relatively uncommon but established.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Cathay was a common medieval and Renaissance European name for China, and it lingered in literature long after the term fell out of everyday geographic use.
From the historical record
“Catford. A loc. n., Kent Cathcart. A loc. n., Lanark Cathey. From Cathay ; a loc. n., S. Wales. Or see Caddy Catling. FI. Catelin ; p.n. See Catt. A dim. Or Castelin ; a loc. n., Norm.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)