Catay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Catay family

The surname Catay was first found in Yorkshire where the name is generally understood to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name Cada. 1 But another source claims the name is Norman in origin as references there note that Arnulf Cades paid a fine in Normandy for disseisin in 1184. The same name also appears in 1198 under different circumstances. 2

The Pipe Rolls of 1189 list Eustace Cade as holding lands in Lincolnshire at that time. 3 And Shakespeare included John at the Cade (a reference to the old English word for a barrel or cask) in Henry VI, Act IV, Scene II. 4

Early History of the Catay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Catay research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1155, 1380, 1450, 1527, 1583, 1660 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Catay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Catay Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Catay has undergone many spelling variations, including Cade, Cady, Cadye, Kadye, Caddy, Caddey, Kade, Kady and many more.

Early Notables of the Catay family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir John Caddy of Buckland Brewer; and Jack Cade (d. 1450), English rebel from Kent who led an unsuccessful rebellion with an army of over 5,000 against King Henry VI, he had a bounty on his head of 1,000 marks and was killed attempting to flee. "He was an Irishman by birth, and is spoken of as a young man at the time of his rebellion; but nothing is known of his personal history till a year before that date. He was then living in the household of Sir Thomas Dacre in Sussex...
Another 181 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Catay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Catay family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Catay were among those contributors: Ellen Cady who settled in Boston in 1850; William Caddy settled in Barbados in 1634; George Caddy settled in New York in 1841.

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print