This interesting surname is a variant spelling of the Old Irish name O'Maithide, a very rare surname which originated in the Province of Connacht. The meaning of the name is equally obscure but may be "the descendant of the perceptive one" although the original translation is lost. The surname is first recorded in the early 17th Century, (see below). The name development includes; Peter, son of Zackarie Mahie, who was christened at St. Saviours Norwich, on January 31st 1618; on December 28th 1804, William Thomas, son of William and Anna Mahy, was christened at Kirkheaton, Yorkshire; William Mahey, who with his family emigrated to New York in 1846, they sailed from Liverpool on the ship "Liverpool"; the marriage of Mary Ann Mahy and James Parry took place on December 21st 1848, at Manchester Cathedral; on March 24th 1864, Jane Caroling Mahy married William Sainsbury, at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London; and on March 12th 1887, Conterina Mahy married James Coolthirst Leigh at East Sheen, Surrey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Sacarye Mahie, witness at a christening, which was dated January 8th 1609, Waloon, Norwich, during the reign of King James 1 of England, 1603 - 1625. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.