Family name origins & meanings
- English : nickname from Middle English popinjay, papejai ‘parrot’ (via Old French papageai from Arabic bab(b)aghā). The ending of the English word was altered by folk etymological association with the bird name jay. The nickname was probably acquired by a talkative person or by someone who habitually dressed in bright colors, but occasionally it may have denoted someone who was connected with or who excelled at the medieval sport of tilting or shooting at a wooden parrot (popinjay) on a pole.