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Clay Surname Origin & Last Name Meaning

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Clay Surname Origin

Locality. A town of France in Seine. A lake on the isle of Lewis, Scotland. Clee, hills in Wales. Cle, left-handed, a place lying to the left, in relation to another place. Cledh, cloid, and cladd, in the Gaelic, Welsh, and British, signify a ditch, a trench, a wall; cladh, a church-yard; cledd, Welsh, a sword; Gaelic, claiheamb, from which we have Claymore, a large sword. The same word in Welsh and Gaelic that signifies a river is often applied to a sword, from their resemblance in glittering brightness.

Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import; Arthur, William, M.A.; New York, NY: Sheldon, Blake, Bleeker & CO., 1857.


For a more detailed definition for Clay or other surnames, search the FREE Ancestry.com Name Dictionary.

Clay Last Name Meaning   



There is more to Clay family history than the origin of the surname:


You can  Start your Clay Family Tree     and discover things you never knew about your own family. Construct a free family tree to trace your own genealogy and learn about your personal family history.

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Getting Started with your Clay genealogy and family history:


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Next Steps in building the Clay family tree:


Use these genealogy databases to fill in the blanks of your Clay heritage.



Clay in Ancestry.com Records
Start your family tree and learn the story of your family in the world's largest online collection of genealogy records and family trees. Look for additional generations to add to your family history. Find details such as family relationships, age, residence, occupation, year of immigration to the U.S. & ancestral town. Other genealogy records include birth, marriage and death records as well as biographies, military records, family history books, and historical newspapers.



Clay at the Mormon LDS Database
Trace your Clay family in the vast resources of the Mormon LDS genealogy online databases which includes the Ancestral File, transcribed census records, and the International Genealogical Index.


Clay at RootsWeb databases
Search for your genealogy in multiple RootsWeb genealogy databases including the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), RootsWeb Surname List, World Connect, vital records, cemetery listings, census records, church records. The oldest and largest free genealogy site on the internet.


Clay Family Tree Connection
Discover unique Clay genealogy resources such as fraternal organizations, school records, church memberships, business associations, graduation lists, clubs & societies, vehicle registrations, employment records, orphanage residents, insurance claims, and mining accidents.




Communicate with others researching the Clay surname:


It is possible as you build your own family tree to connect with distant cousins and unknown relatives via the internet. Data sharing among genealogical researchers is common, and many family trees have been published online. Learn what others know about your family tree.


Clay in RootsWeb surname mailing lists
Join others on the Clay genealogy mailing list for discussion and sharing of information regarding family histories of Clay surname and its variations. Note: Not all surnames have a mailing list. If you get the "Page is Not Available" message, no mailing list is available. Instead, check the index of mailing lists for a sound-alike name.


Clay in Ancestry Message Boards
Browse or post a query about your genealogy, surname origin, or family history in the Clay surname forum. Look for unknown cousins or relatives with whom you may have lost touch.




Look for your Clay family in published books:



Clay in Ancestry Family and Local Histories
Read online surname origin books, biographies, journals, county histories, multi-generational genealogies & family trees, memoirs and other first-hand historical narratives which pertain to the Clay family name to help add detail and personality to the pages of your family history.


Clay Self-Published Genealogy Books
Search for your Clay Family History. The original copies of self-published genealogies were usually printed in small editions - sometimes only two hundred copies or less - and they are now very rare. Today these difficult-to-find books have been reprinted for research and to pass on to your children and grandchildren as precious family heirlooms.




A Family History Thought:


Whenever there's a will, you'll see an heir loom.



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Clay Surname Facts

Countries of Origin for the Clay Surname
View the countries of origin for the Clay surname based on passenger lists to the US.


Distribution of the Clay Surname in UK
View a map of the distribution of Clay families in the UK.


Distribution of Clay Surname in US
See a map of the distribution of Clay families in the US. 1920   1880   1840




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