Frequency: (1185)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. English (mainly Yorkshire): topographic name for someone dwelling ‘at the enclosure’, Middle English atte hey (from Old English (ge)hæg ‘enclosure’).
2. Irish: variant of Athy.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
