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Conventional wisdom tells us that the surname of Clay comes from the Anglo Saxon word Claeg, meaning Clay. We are then asked to accept that the surname comes from localities that have a heavy link with Clay, Clay pits, quarries etc or workers in Clay pits.
In total there are around 80 place names connected with the word Clay, considering the distribution of Clay in England, that really is not a lot.
Surnames only really came into use in England in the 12th century, its helpful to have the use of surnames for tax purposes.
It is often also stated that it's a Midlands or Yorkshire surname but from " The Clay of England Society" website, we can see that the surname is recorded in most counties from the 12th century.