Explore the Family Name Say

The meaning of Say

1. English: of Norman origin, a habitational name from Sai in Orne or Say in Indre, France, perhaps so called from a Gaulish personal name Saius + the Latin locative suffix -acum (see also French name 3 below). 2. English: nickname, perhaps for someone who made or sold say, a type of woollen cloth, or for an habitual wearer of clothes made of this material, from Middle English sai(e) ‘say’ (Old French saie, from Latin saga, plural of sagum ‘military cloak’). See also Sayer. 3. French (southern): topographic name from saix (from Latin saxum) ‘rock’, or a habitational name from a place called with this word, for example, Say in Loire, Saix in Tarn and Vienne, Le Saix in Hautes-Alpes, or Les Saix in Isère. 4. Burmese (Karen): from a personal name usually forming part of a compound name, from say ‘silver’. — Note: Since Karens do not have hereditary surnames, this name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US. 5. Cambodian: written សាយ, corresponding to the Khmer word of various possible meanings, including ‘(to be) prolific’. 6. Turkish: ornamental name, nickname or topographic name from mostly regional say, meaning e.g. ‘flat, very thin stone’ and ‘companion’. 7. Amerindian (Guatemala): Mayan name, from a term denoting a kind of small fish. History: William Say of Bristol, England, was a member of the Society of Friends who settled in America toward the close of the 17th century. His descendant Thomas Say (1787–1834) of Philadelphia is known as the father of descriptive entomology in America.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.