* As a north German and Dutch surname, variant of Beye, Baye, vowel variants of the Danish surname Boye.
* Also as a German surname, Germanized from Lower Sorbian baj (“storyteller”), from Proto-Slavic *bajь, related to *bajati (“to tell”). Compare Bay.
* As a French surname, from several placenames in France, from a regional variant of bief (“mill-race”).
* As an Islamic surname (generally Algeria), from Turkish bey (see Beg). See also Pasha, Agha.