Way
A surname most often from a road, path, or place by the way.
The #2,552 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,809 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually traced to Old English weg and Middle English wey, meaning a way, road, or path. In medieval records it could identify someone who lived by a road or path, or someone from a place marked by that feature. Some older writers also treated it as a place-name surname in certain cases, which is why the derivation can overlap between topographic and locational use.
History
Medieval English records show the name in forms like de la Weye and in similar byname-style uses. It appears in several English counties, and later surname writers noted that not every modern bearer's line can be proved to come directly from a road-side dwelling, since it may also reflect local place-names or older family usage. The surname has also generated a number of compounds and related surnames such as Wayland and Waymouth.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One early recorded form was Thomas de la Weye, showing the surname in a distinctly medieval French-influenced style.
From the historical record
“EUer-Burn, &c. WAY 1 (Eng.) Dweller at the Path or Road WAYE ; [M.E. wey{e, O.E. weg'\ Thomas de la Weye. — Hund. Rolls. WAYGOOD (Eng.) a descendant of the A. -Sax. pers. name Wigod= War-God [O.E. wig, I war + god, a god] WAYLAND (Eng.) i Bel. to Wayland (Norf.),”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)