O'May Surname

937,786th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 280 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Scotland
Highest density in:
Scotland

O'May Surname Definition:

OMAY, Omey: This surname is simply O'Mey or O'May with omission of the apostrophe. A family of this name were lairds of Keil in Kintyre, and most of those of the name in record were connected with the church. A letter was directed to Mr. Duncane Omay in 1536 "makand him principall churgiane to the king, etc.

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O'May Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland1081:49,5724,299
Australia1041:259,57423,725
United States421:8,629,975373,648
Canada111:3,349,599180,238
England111:5,065,278148,650
Wales41:773,63329,106
Brazil21:107,037,1661,031,150
France21:33,211,361423,184
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland591:63,4443,911
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States151:3,347,912150,340

O'May Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

OMAY, Omey: This surname is simply O'Mey or O'May with omission of the apostrophe. A family of this name were lairds of Keil in Kintyre, and most of those of the name in record were connected with the church. A letter was directed to Mr. Duncane Omay in 1536 "makand him principall churgiane to the king, etc., and gifand him xl lib" (RSS., II, 3416). James May, son of Mr. Duncan May, was in 1542 presented to the rectory of Kilquhomen (Kilchoman) in Ila, vacant by the death of Mr. Archibald McEerbry (ibid., 4939). Master Cornelius Omeych was connected with the cathedral of Lismore, 1556 (OPS., II, p. 162). Duncan Omey, a layman apparently, held the three merks eight shillings and four pence land of Kilquhowane (Kilchoman) in Kintyre, 1605 (HP., III, p. 82). Mr. Alexander Omey, who was appointed minister at Monydie in 1608, was ordered by the Privy Council in 1612 to underlie punishment as an "ockerer," i.e userer (RPC., IX, p. 425). Mr. Donald Omey, "ane learned, modest, and goode teatcheour at the Kirk of Ardnamerchine," suffered outrage at the hands of John McIlmichill, a servant of the captain of Clanranald, in his kirk, 1624 (ibid., XIII p. 427—428). The Rev. Duncan Omay was minister of Keil as well as laird in 1638, and his brother Rev. Donald O'Mey, was minister of Kilkeran in the same year. In Irish the name is O'Miadhaigh, and in Lorn it is Caelicized M'A'Mhiadhaich, Miodhack, a personal name, from miadh, O. Irish miad, honor, esteem, is parallel to Latin Honorius. The O'May tradition "is that they came to the country to teach and practice weaving' (TGSI., XXXV, p. 269).

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

O'May Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name O'May Come From? nationality or country of origin

O'May is carried by more people in Scotland than any other country or territory. It can occur in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of O'May click here.

How Common Is The Last Name O'May? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 937,786th most frequently occurring surname throughout the world It is held by around 1 in 26,026,950 people. This last name is primarily found in Europe, where 45 percent of O'May reside; 44 percent reside in Northern Europe and 44 percent reside in British Isles.

The last name O'May is most commonly used in Scotland, where it is borne by 108 people, or 1 in 49,572. In Scotland O'May is mostly concentrated in: Argyll and Bute, where 23 percent live, Moray, where 19 percent live and Falkirk, where 13 percent live. Besides Scotland this last name occurs in 8 countries. It also occurs in Australia, where 37 percent live and The United States, where 15 percent live.

O'May Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of O'May has changed through the years. In Scotland the number of people bearing the O'May last name grew 183 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in The United States it grew 280 percent between 1880 and 2014.

O'May Last Name Statistics demography

The amount O'May earn in different countries varies notably. In United States they earn 14.43% more than the national average, earning $49,375 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.54% less than the national average, earning $47,926 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Omay894,335/
O'Ma891/
Omaya801,998/
Omaye801,924/
Omayo801,656/
Oumay80244/
Omayi80191/
Homay80129/
Omayu8071/
Omhay8049/
Gomay8047/
Osmay8028/
O'Mea8010/
Otmay806/
Oomay801/
Oimay801/
O'Mae801/
O'Mai801/
O'Mau801/
O'Oma801/
Oymay801/
Omayz801/
Oma758,076/
Omy751,170/
Omayio732,037/
Oumaya73292/
Omayah73112/
Gomayi7397/
Goumay7388/
Oemaya7387/
Omayie7340/
Osmayo7339/
Gomaya7328/
Ohmaye7322/
Homayi7321/
Ommaya7318/
Homaye7315/
Omaiyo7313/
Oumaye7312/
Omayas7311/
Omahay7311/
Houmay7311/
Omayes7310/
Osmaya739/
Homayo739/
Omayho739/
Omayeh735/
Gomayu734/
Homaya734/
Ojmaya734/
Gomaye734/
Hommay733/
Gomayo733/
Homayu732/
Omayed732/
Omayat732/
Omayad731/
Omayee731/
Ojmaye731/
Hoimay731/
Omayou731/
Oumayo731/
Oimayo731/
O'Mach731/
O'Meas731/
Goomay731/
Gommay731/
O'Muya731/
Omayoh731/
Omayot731/
Omaysh731/
Hosmay731/
Omahey730/
Ouma67216,499/
Goma67214,586/
Omae6724,902/
Homa6711,750/
Osma6711,516/
Omah676,895/
Omaa674,346/
Omoy673,141/
Amay672,896/
Omas672,311/
Omaç671,398/
Omey671,264/
Omai671,142/
Omat671,107/
Emay671,033/
Gomy67993/
Oima67720/
Omma67344/
Omaj67330/
Omad67311/
Oemayah67264/
Goumaye67231/
Oyma67177/
Omea67171/
Omoa67156/
Omağ67156/
Ohma67122/
Omaş6798/
Uoma6785/
Otma6771/
Omau6769/
Ooma6767/
Omaz6756/
Osmy6752/
Homayed6747/
Homy6743/
Omha6736/
Ommy6727/
Omap6727/
Oema6722/
Oumy6716/
Omga6713/
Omojaya679/
Ojma676/
Otmy675/
Omayowa675/
Houmayi675/
Omys675/
Omyo674/
Omye674/
Omyd674/
Homayot674/
Houmaya674/
Hotmaya673/
Homayou673/
Homayee673/
Oismayo672/
Goumaya672/
Uomy672/
Houmaye672/
Goumayi671/
Gomayah671/
Omuyaya671/
Omyi671/
Homayoo671/
Homoaya671/
Omać671/
Ouhmayd671/
Oummaye671/
Ousmaya671/
Osmayeh671/
Ohmy671/
Goummay671/
Omayesh671/
Omahaye671/
Oomy671/
Omyt671/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to O'May
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis