FloyerHayes Exeter 1765Map BenjaminDonne

-hay (also hays, hayes, etc.) is a place-name word-ending common in England. It derives from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

word ''hege''Johnston, p.196 or ''haga'',Johnston, p.147

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

''heie'',Johnston, p.296 in Icelandic ''hagi'', meaning "an enclosed field", and is from the same root as the English word "

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced (3 feet or closer) shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate ...

", a structure which surrounds and encloses an area of land, from the Norman-French ''haie'', "a hedge". Haw (from O.E. ''haga'') and Hay (from O.E. ''hege'') are cognate and both mean "hedge".

Examples

*''Cheslyn Hay'', Walsall, meaning "a fenced or hedged enclosure", here perhaps around an ancient

cromlech A cromlech (sometimes also spelled "cromleh" or "cromlêh"; cf Welsh ''crom'', "bent"; ''llech'', "slate") is a megalithic construction made of large stone blocks. The word applies to two different megalithic forms in English, the first being a ...

or burial-mound. *Pipe Hayes ("hedges"),

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Warwickshire, it is located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutt ...

.Johnston, p.402

Derbyshire

In the vicinity of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

: *

Floyer Hayes Floyer Hayes was an historic Manorialism, manor in the St Thomas, Exeter, parish of St Thomas on the southern side of the City of Exeter in Devon, England, from which city it is separated by the River Exe.Risdon, 1811 Additions, p.374 It took ...

* Cotmanhay * Idridgehay *

Lower Hartshay Lower Hartshay is a small village in the civil parish of Ripley, in the Amber Valley district, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is on Hartshay Brook and near the A38 road The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol ...

* Marehay * Parsley Hay * The Findern Hays *

Upper Hartshay Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

Devon

Exeter

In the vicinity of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

: *

* Northern Hay *Southern Hay * Shill Hay *Fryers Hay * Bon Hay * Princesshay

Tiverton

In the vicinity of Tiverton: * Moor Hayes,

Cullompton Cullompton () is a town and civil parish in the district of Mid Devon and the county of Devon, England. It is north-east of Exeter and lies on the River Culm. In 2021, the parish as a whole had a population of 10,071, while the built-up area o ...

* Passmore Hayes * Buck Hayes * Rashleigh Hayes * Gorn Hay * Wid Hayes * Moor Hayes, Washfield

Sources

*Johnston, Rev. James B., ''The Place-Names of England and Wales'', London, 1915, p. 14

References

Place name element etymologies, Hay English suffixes