Recorded in several forms including Coy, Coye and Coie, this is an English surname. It is medieval and locational, and originates from a place now called Quy. Formerly spelt in the 12th century "Coeia" it was to be found in the parish of Stow, in the county of Cambridge. In ancient times this place must have been an island in the fen, because the name translates at "Cow Island" from the pre 7th century elements "cu eg". All the early recordings are to be found in Canbridgeshire, suggesting that the original nameholders were also the lords of the manor of Quy. These early recordings include Walkelin de Queye, in the Pipe Rolls of the county in 1292, and Ralph de Quoye, in the same rolls. Later examples taken from the church registers of the period include Mabell, the daughter of John Coye, christened at St James Church, Clerkenwell, London, in 1636, and Mary Coy, who married William Gardiner at the church of St Mary Alderney, city of London, in 1747. The first known recording is believed to be that of Felice de Quoy, in the Hundred Rolls of the county of Cambridge, in the year 1273. This was in the first year of the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307.

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