Loy
A surname that may be a short form of a Hebrew personal name, though some bearers may come from other surname traditions too.
The #4,006 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,816 Americans shares it.
Etymology
One 19th-century source treats Loy as a short form of a Hebrew personal name, but it gives the explanation very briefly and without much supporting detail. In English and Norman records, the same spelling can also appear as a separate surname form, and in Irish materials it may overlap with Gaelic surnames such as Mulloy/O'Molloy in later Anglicized spellings. Because the evidence points in more than one direction, the safest view is that Loy is a surname with multiple possible origins rather than a single certain derivation.
History
The name appears in medieval English and Norman-looking records, which suggests an early independent surname line in some cases. In Irish contexts, related spellings can be tied to Gaelic surnames that were later shortened or reshaped in English form. In the United States today, Loy is uncommon but established, and modern bearers may descend from different ancestral streams.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same spelling can sit at the crossroads of several traditions, which is one reason surnames like Loy can be surprisingly hard to pin down from spelling alone.
From the historical record
“LOY 200 LOV The Hebrew personal name. Fil'Lote. H.R.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Loy
- Myrna Loy (1905–1993)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.