Hoy
A surname usually from a place-name or topographic term, though in some cases it may be a variant of How or related forms.
The #3,855 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,574 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hoy is generally treated as a local surname, used for someone who lived by a particular place or feature called a hoy. In older surname dictionaries it is sometimes explained as a provincial form of How, with related spellings such as Hoye. Another line of explanation connects it with place-names like Hoyland, though the evidence is not always clear-cut.
History
Bardsley records medieval examples such as Adam del Hoy and Hugo del Hoy in Yorkshire, showing the name in use by the late 14th century. The surname later appears in several spelling variants, and some forms may have merged with related names like How, Hoyle, and Hoyland. In modern usage it remains relatively uncommon but is still found in England, Scotland, and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname collections note medieval Yorkshire bearers of Hoy, which helps show how many English surnames first arose from tiny local features or nearby settlements.
From the historical record
“HOY HOSTE. The ancestor of tlie baronet was Jacques Hostc, who was driven out of the Netherlands in 15G9, by the persecutions under the Duke of Alva, and settled in England. His ancestors were influential in the city of Bruges in the XIV, cent. Court- hope's Debrett. HOTCHKmS. See Roger.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom