David Hey

David G. Hey (18 July 1938 – 14 February 2016) was an English historian, considered an expert on surnames and the local history of Yorkshire.

He was born to George and Florence (née Batty) Hey in Catshaw. The family moved to Penistone when David was eleven, and he attended Penistone Grammar School. He graduated from the University College of North Staffordshire in 1960 and taught in Yorkshire until 1967. That year, Hey began teaching at Matlock College of Education. While teaching, Hey also earned a master's degree and doctorate from Leicester University, finishing his studies in 1971. Four years later, Hey left a research fellowship at Leicester to join the faculty of Sheffield University. In 1992, he was named a chair professor and dean of extramural studies in 1994. Hey was a former president of the British Association for Local History, the British Agricultural History Society, and also led the British Record Society as council chair.

Hey's interest in local history led to books on the town of Penistone and city of Sheffield, as well as the counties of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. His research into surnames, which grew from local history, revealed that many rare names originated in the 13th century, and that most people with such surnames still lived close to the area from which their surname originated. Linking genetic studies with surname prevalence showed that people did not move as much as social scientists thought they did at the time.

Hey was married to Pat, with whom he had two children, from 1970 until his death in 2016 at the age of 77.

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