girl's name
Faye
FAY
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 86,981
the United States
#514
2025 births
Faye is a girl's name of Old French origin meaning "fairy," from a word that traces back to the Fates of Roman religion. It ranks 68th in Northern Ireland and is reviving.
- Faye is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1943, when 1,478 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1940s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 5,726 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Faye over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 296 |
| 1890s | 1,130 |
| 1900s | 2,230 |
| 1910s | 6,941 |
| 1920s | 10,360 |
| 1930s | 12,666 |
| 1940s | 13,785 |
| 1950s | 10,492 |
| 1960s | 4,250 |
| 1970s | 1,558 |
| 1980s | 1,058 |
| 1990s | 618 |
| 2000s | 1,106 |
| 2010s | 2,969 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,201 |
What Faye means
Faye means fairy. The Middle English fay meant a supernatural woman, and behind it stands the Latin fata, the Fates — the goddesses who assigned each life its span, which is a considerably heavier idea than the modern word carries.
Where Faye comes from
Faye comes from the Middle English fay or faie, a fairy, borrowed from the Old French fae, which descends from the Vulgar Latin fata — the Fates, the three goddesses who spun, measured and cut the thread of a life. The same root gives fate, fatal and the Italian fata. Its literary bearer is Morgan le Fay, King Arthur's half-sister in the Arthurian cycle, where le Fay is a title rather than a surname and marks her as one of the fairy kind. Faye also serves as a short form of Faith, from the Latin fides, which is a completely separate word, and the two have been confused often enough that some reference works give faith as a meaning. The name came into English use in the nineteenth century, and Faye Dunaway carried it into the twentieth.
Faye in use
Faye ranks 68th in Northern Ireland with 30 births in 2024 and 81st in Ireland, and our records mark it reviving from a peak in 1943 — a genuine vintage revival rather than a new name. It holds 514th in the United States and 333rd in England and Wales. Our records carry it from 1880.
How popular is Faye?
In 2025, Faye was given to 579 babies in the United States, ranking #514 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Faye is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Faye
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Faye also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Faye over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Faye
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Faye in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Dutch
- Fay
Sibling names for Faye
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Faye — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Faye
What does the name Faye mean?
Faye means "fairy," from the Old French fae, which traces back to the Latin fata, the Fates.
Is Faye short for Faith?
It is used that way, but the two are unrelated. Faith comes from the Latin fides.
Who is Morgan le Fay?
King Arthur's half-sister. Le Fay is a title marking her as one of the fairy kind, not a surname.
How popular is Faye?
Sixty-eighth in Northern Ireland and 81st in Ireland.
Is Faye a girl's or a boy's name?
Faye is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Faye?
Faye has 1 syllable.
What are the nicknames for Faye?
Faye is usually shortened to Fay.
Is Faye a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Faye currently ranks #68 in the United States. After peaking in the 1940s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.