Fay Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Fay Family History

Fay Family History

The family history of the ancient name Fay was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Fay include Faye, Fee, O'Fiaich and Fey. This Irish name has a number of origins. It is often a form of the Norman name 'de Fae' which was introduced into County Westmeath during the twelfth century. Fay can also be an anglicized form of the Gaelic O'Fiaich sept name, which was also changed to Fee and Foy.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

O'Fiaich is taken from a Gaelic word that translates as 'raven'. A family of the name is on record from the year 1482 when they were recorded in the 'Annals of the Four Masters' as erenaghs of Derrybrusk, near Enniskillen. In Griffith's Valuation in the year 1850 there are 52 entries of the name Fay or Fey in the barony of Tullygarvey. A notable bearer of the name in modern times is Cardinal Thomas O'Fiaich, Archbishop of Armagh. The Fay family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Fay descendants.