Show ContentsCoy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Anglo-Saxon name Coy comes from when the family resided in the region of Quy a chapelry in the parish of Stow.

Early Origins of the Coy family

The surname Coy was first found in Cambridgeshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Coy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coy research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1675 is included under the topic Early Coy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coy Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Coy has been recorded under many different variations, including Coy, Coye and others.

Early Notables of the Coy family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • John Coy of Brooklyn Mass...

Coy Ranking

In the United States, the name Coy is the 2,526th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. [1]


United States Coy migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Coy or a variant listed above:

Coy Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Edward Coy who settled in New England in 1695
Coy Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Laurence Coy, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1754 [2]
Coy Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Joseph Coy, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 [2]
  • Neil Coy, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1812 [2]
  • John Coy, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1812 [2]
  • Ignacio DeLosSantos Coy, who landed in Texas in 1835 [2]
  • Ygnacio DeLosSantos Coy, who landed in Texas in 1835 [2]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Coy migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Coy Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Amasa Coy U.E. (b. 1757) born in Connecticut, USA who settled in Fredericton, New Brunswick c. 1783 he died in 1838 [3]

Australia Coy migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Coy Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Charles Coy, English convict who was convicted in Ely (Isle of Ely), Cambridgeshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the ""Blenheim"" on 24th July 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) and Norfolk Island, Australia [4]
  • John Coy, aged 19, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "General Hewett"
  • Patrick Coy, aged 17, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "General Hewett"

West Indies Coy migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [5]
Coy Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Richard Coy, who settled in Barbados in 1686

Contemporary Notables of the name Coy (post 1700) +

  • Jeffrey W. Coy (1951-2018), American Democratic Party politician, Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1983-2004) [6]
  • William Allen Coy (1835-1912), American Republican politician, Mayor of Kansas City, Kansas, 1889-91 [6]
  • Ninfa Coy, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Missouri, 2000 [6]
  • Lee L. Coy, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Michigan State Senate 4th District, 1944; Prohibition Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 1st District, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1952 [6]
  • John W. Coy, American politician, Member of Missouri State House of Representatives from Polk County, 1903-04 [6]
  • Harry A. Coy, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Havre de Grace, Maryland, 1934-38 [6]
  • Irus Coy, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Illinois, 1872 [6]
  • Grace Coy, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Philippine Islands, 1944 [6]
  • Charles E. Coy, American Republican politician, Candidate for supervisor of Delhi Township, Michigan, 1947 [6]
  • Alice B. Coy, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 1st District, 1948, 1950, 1952 [6]
  • ... (Another 15 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

RMS Titanic
  • Mr. Francis Ernest George Coy (d. 1912), aged 26, English Junior Assistant 3rd Engineer from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking [7]


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  7. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html


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