When Rebecca Gay was born on 13 May 1681, in Dedham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, her father, John Gay, was 29 and her mother, Rebecca Bacon, was 22. She married Christopher Smith about 1701, in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 4 daughters. She died on 17 March 1763, at the age of 81.
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English (southwestern), French, and Catalan: nickname for a lighthearted or cheerful person, from Middle English, Old French gai, Catalan gay ‘cheerful’. In Middle English the term could also mean ‘wanton, lascivious’ and this sense may lie behind the surname in some instances.
English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of the places in Normandy called Gaye, from an early proprietor bearing an ancient Germanic personal name cognate with Wade .
Catalan: probably also from the personal name Gai (from Latin Gaius).
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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