Assay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Assay

What does the name Assay mean?

The roots of the Assay family name are in ancient Scotland with the Viking settlers. Assay was derived from the name Aassi, which is a Old Norse form of the Old English personal name Oswald, which means divine power. The original spelling of the surname Assay was Aassiesen, and this form is preserved in the Shetlands; many diminutive forms of the surname also exist. The surname was recorded in the Landnamabok (the Icelandic Book of settlement), as Asi.

Early Origins of the Assay family

The surname Assay was first found in the Shetlands, where it is a form of Oswald.

Early History of the Assay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Assay research. Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Assay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Assay Spelling Variations

Sound and intuition were the main things that scribes in the Middle Ages relied on when spelling and translating names. Since those factors varied, so did the spelling of the names. Spelling variations of the name Assay include Aassie, Assi, Assie, Aasie, Hoseason, Hosison and many more.

Early Notables of the Assay family

More information is included under the topic Early Assay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Assay family to Ireland

Some of the Assay family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Assay migration to the United States +

In North America, the monarchy was thousands of miles away and Scots were free to settle on their own land and practice their own beliefs. The American War of Independence provided an opportunity for these settlers to pay back the English monarchy and forge a new nation. Recently, this heritage has survived through North American highland games and Clan societies. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name Assay or a variant listed above:

Assay Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Louis Assay, aged 50, who arrived in Louisiana in 1719 1

Sources +

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)