Day
A common surname with more than one origin, most often from the given name David or from a place-based form such as D'Eye/Deye.
The #294 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,938 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname has several established explanations. One common source is as a short form of the medieval given name David, which ultimately comes from Hebrew and means “beloved.” Another line of explanation in older surname scholarship connects Day to a place-name or locative form, especially a tradition of D'Eye or Deye from Eye in Suffolk. In some cases it may also have arisen independently from other surnames or nicknames that later converged in spelling.
History
Day is well established in England and later spread widely in the English-speaking world. Because the surname can have multiple independent origins, different Day families are not necessarily related. The form is common enough that early surname writers treated it as both a patronymic from David and, in some lines, a locative surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower noted a tradition that one bearer descended from a follower of the Conqueror who settled at Eye in Suffolk and took the name D'Eye or Deye.
From the historical record
“DAY 84 DEA " Curiosity of Heraldry," I may note that the crest of the family is a Demi-Saracen, holding in one hand a lion's paw, and in”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Day
- Doris Day (1922–2019)
- Dorothy Day (1897–1980)
- Sandra Day O'Connor (1930–2023)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.