unisex name
Kayce
KAY-see
- Origin Irish
- Gender Unisex
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 7,280
the United States
#375
2025 births
Kayce is a unisex name of modern American coinage, a respelling of Casey or of the initials K. C. It has no inherited meaning of its own, and its recent rise follows a television character rather than any older tradition.
- Kayce is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 928 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,573 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Kayce started out as a girls' name and is now given almost entirely to boys.
- First appears in US birth records in 1955.
Kayce over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 28 |
| 1960s | 51 |
| 1970s | 315 |
| 1980s | 827 |
| 1990s | 892 |
| 2000s | 544 |
| 2010s | 481 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,402 |
What Kayce means
Kayce takes whatever meaning its source carries. Through Casey it reaches the Irish Ó Cathasaigh, from a word meaning vigilant or watchful; as a spelling of initials it carries none at all.
Where Kayce comes from
Kayce respells Casey, itself an anglicization of the Irish Ó Cathasaigh, descendant of Cathasach, from a root meaning watchful or vigilant. It also functions as a phonetic spelling of the initials K. C., a common American naming practice. The spelling appears in our records from 1955 in small numbers and climbed sharply after 2018, following Kayce Dutton in the television series Yellowstone — the pattern of a name carried by a single character, which our records make visible as a step change rather than a gradual rise.
Kayce in use
Kayce charts in five of the seven countries we track and reached its highest recorded use in 2025.
How popular is Kayce?
In 2025, Kayce was given to 928 babies in the United States, ranking #375 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Kayce 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 Kayce
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kayce also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kayce over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Kayce
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.
Kayce 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 Kayce
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kayce — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kayce
What does the name Kayce mean?
Through Casey it reaches an Irish root meaning watchful. As a spelling of the initials K. C. it carries no meaning.
Is Kayce from Yellowstone?
Its recent rise follows Kayce Dutton closely — the records show a step change after 2018 rather than a gradual climb.
Is Kayce a boy's or a girl's name?
Both, though recent American use leans toward boys.
How popular is the name Kayce?
In 2025, Kayce was given to 928 babies in the United States, ranking #375 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
When was Kayce most popular?
Kayce peaked in 2025, when 928 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Kayce?
Kayce is usually shortened to Kay.
Is Kayce a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kayce currently ranks #245 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.