Gay
A surname that usually began as a nickname for someone cheerful, merry, or pleasant.
The #1,094 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,641 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually traced to Old French gai / geay, meaning “cheerful” or “merry,” which was used in medieval England as a nickname for a bright or lively person. The form passed into Middle English as gay, retaining the sense of “happy, lively, pleasant.” Some early records show it with the French article, as in Le Gai or Le Gey.
History
The name appears in medieval English records in forms such as Le Gai and Be Gay, showing that it was already established as a nickname surname by the 13th century. It also spread in a few cases through other place-name or word sources, but the nickname origin is the main one given by the older surname dictionaries. The surname is now familiar in England, France, and the English-speaking world.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower notes that while the cheerful-nickname origin is the usual explanation, some instances may instead come from a French word meaning “ford” (gue), so the surname can have more than one origin in rare cases.
From the historical record
“King Arthur. GAY. O. Fr. §•«?", cheerful, merry. A Be Gay is found in H.R. (co. Oxon); but Le Gai and Le Gey are more common. GAYER. Perhaps the Gare of the Wilt- shire Domesday. GAYLER. A jailor. In the H.R. Le Gayeler, Gayliu", and Gayolir. GAYLORD. "Has no reference to”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom