England
IrelandBillay is an Anglo-Saxon name. The name was originally given to a maker of polearms or halberds and billhooks as these were common weapons in early times. The name could also be a baptismal name derived from son of William, although this latter origin is less likely.
The surname Billay was first found in Somerset, where they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Billay research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1320, 1500, 1667, 1501, 1533, 1535, 1505, 1561, 1547, 1551, 1548, 1551, 1553, 1558, 1561, 1558, 1561, 1560, 1561 and are included under the topic Early Billay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Billay has appeared include Bill, Bills, Billes and others.
Distinguished members of the family include William Bill (d. 1501), Dean of Westminster, son of John Bill of Ashwell, Hertfordshire, and brother of Thomas Bill, M.D., of the same place, and of St. Bartholomew's, London, physician to Henry VIII. He was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Billay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Billay family to IrelandSome of the Billay family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Billay arrived in North America very early: James Bill who settled in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1638; and was made a freeman in that year; Thomas Bill settled in Boston in 1657. The Bills became a distinguished family of the U.S.A..
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