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Hoy Family History

Hoy Surname Meaning

English (Essex): nickname for a sailor from Middle Dutch hoey ‘cargo ship’. Irish: variant of Hoey.

Danish (Høy): nickname for a tall person from høj ‘high’. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 許 see Xu.

Chinese: possibly from Cantonese form of some Chinese names 海 (meaning ‘sea’) or 開 (meaning ‘open’) or 凱 (meaning ‘victorious’) or 楷 (meaning ‘model’).

These names were monosyllabic personal names or part of disyllabic personal names of some early Chinese immigrants in the US.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: 

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Where is the Hoy family from?

You can see how Hoy families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Hoy family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Hoy families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 185 Hoy families living in Ontario. This was about 53% of all the recorded Hoy's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Hoy families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Hoy surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Hoy ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Housekeeper were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Hoy. 31% of Hoy men worked as a Farmer and 25% of Hoy women worked as a Housekeeper. Some less common occupations for Americans named Hoy were Laborer and Stenographer.

View Census Data for Hoy | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    31%
  • Labourer
    16%
  • Cook
    9%
  • Laborer
    8%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Housekeeper
    25%
  • Nurse
    25%
  • Income
    15%
  • Stenographer
    15%

What Hoy family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 121,000 census records available for the last name Hoy. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Hoy census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Hoy

Passenger Lists

There are 12,000 immigration records available for the last name Hoy. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Hoy immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 15,000 military records available for the last name Hoy. For the veterans among your Hoy ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Hoy military records

You've only scratched the surface of Hoy family history

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What is the average Hoy lifespan?

Between 1944 and 2004, in the United States, Hoy life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1947, and highest in 2000. The average life expectancy for Hoy in 1944 was 25, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Hoy

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Hoy ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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