Say
An old surname that most likely began as a place name from Sai in Normandy, though some early writers also linked it to Old French words for “wise” or “tunic.”
The #9,803 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 93,503 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest early explanation treats Say as a habitational surname, from Sai in Orne, Normandy, borne by a Norman family that came to England after the Conquest. Some 19th-century writers also proposed other roots: one connected it with an Old French word related to wisdom, and another with Old French saye, meaning a kind of tunic or garment. The place-name origin is the most straightforward and is the one usually emphasized for the English noble family of de Say.
History
Lower notes Picot de Say as an early Norman landholder in the time of the Conqueror, and the name is associated with the medieval barons of Say and later notable bearers such as Geoffrey de Say. In England it appears early in medieval records, especially in aristocratic and territorial contexts. Because the surname is short and also resembles ordinary French and English words, later writers offered competing folk etymologies.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The de Say family produced one of the twenty-five barons connected with Magna Carta.
From the historical record
“SAY (Fr.) I Bel. to Sai (Orne, Norm.). Hugh de Say.— Hund. Rolls. 2 Wise, Prudent [B6arn dial, saye ; Lai.sag-us, prophetic, sopthsayi ng, whence Lat. saga, a fortune-teller] William le Saye.—Hund. Rolls. 3 a nickname from the O.Fr. (and South.Fr,) saye (Fr. sale), a Tunic, (Mili-”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)