Date
Meaning & History
Habitational name for someone from Halifax in Yorkshire, from Old English halh "corner, nook" and gefeaxe "having hair, haired", literally meaning "grassy corner". Folk etymology states it is derived from Old English halig "holy" and feax "hair" from a local legend that the town is said to have received the name from the fact that the hair of a murdered virgin was hung up on a tree in the neighborhood, which became a resort of pilgrims.