girl's name
Kay
KAY
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 103,805
Scotland
#522
2009 births
Kay serves two unrelated sources — the initial of Katherine, and Sir Kay of Arthurian legend, who is Arthur's foster brother and one of the oldest figures in the whole cycle. Its strongest market is the United States, at 3916th.
- Kay is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1942, when 3,718 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 70,542 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1882.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kay 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 | 42 |
| 1890s | 138 |
| 1900s | 491 |
| 1910s | 2,465 |
| 1920s | 3,425 |
| 1930s | 18,607 |
| 1940s | 33,379 |
| 1950s | 24,966 |
| 1960s | 12,554 |
| 1970s | 2,581 |
| 1980s | 1,464 |
| 1990s | 916 |
| 2000s | 653 |
| 2010s | 544 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 320 |
What Kay means
Kay means whatever Katherine means, which is not known, or descends from a Welsh name of uncertain sense. Neither source supplies a settled meaning for it.
Where Kay comes from
Kay is most often the initial of Katherine used as a name, and Katherine's Greek original has never been derived. Separately, Sir Kay is the Welsh Cai, Arthur's foster brother and seneschal, who appears in the earliest Welsh Arthurian material long before the French romances — where he is later reduced to a boor. Cai's own meaning is uncertain, with the Latin Gaius proposed. A third Kay exists as a Frisian and Dutch masculine name.
Kay in use
Kay peaked in the United States in 1942, when 3,718 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in four of the seven markets we track — 2783rd in Canada, 3916th in the United States on 47 births, 5467th in France and 6718th in England and Wales — across 103,805 lifetime births. About 96 percent of recorded births are female despite the Arthurian source being male.
How popular is Kay?
In 2025, Kay was given to 47 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Kay 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 Kay
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kay also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kay over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Kay 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.
Sibling names for Kay
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kay — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kay
What does the name Kay mean?
Not known. It is either the initial of Katherine, whose meaning is unsettled, or the Welsh Cai.
Who was Sir Kay?
Arthur's foster brother and seneschal, one of the oldest figures in the Welsh Arthurian material.
Is Kay a boys' name?
The Arthurian one is male, and a Frisian masculine Kay exists. About 96 percent of our records are female.
How popular is Kay?
3916th in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
How many syllables are in Kay?
Kay has 1 syllable.
Is Kay a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kay currently ranks #2,783 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.