unisex name
Shay
SHAY
- Origin Irish
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 23,582
Ireland
#53
2025 births
Shay is a unisex name of Irish origin meaning "hawk-like" or "stately," the phonetic spelling of the Irish Séaghdha. It ranks 53rd in Ireland and is rising, and it also serves there as a short form of Séamus.
- Shay is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2021, when 409 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 12,703 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1932.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Shay over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1930s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 5 |
| 1950s | 70 |
| 1960s | 451 |
| 1970s | 1,812 |
| 1980s | 1,913 |
| 1990s | 2,595 |
| 2000s | 2,176 |
| 2010s | 2,141 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,088 |
What Shay means
Shay means hawk-like, or stately and fortunate, from the Irish séaghdha. The word held several related senses in Old Irish, all of them about bearing and good standing, and translators pick different ones.
Where Shay comes from
Shay is the phonetic spelling of the Irish Séaghdha, the personal name behind the surname Ó Séaghdha and its anglicization Shea. Séaghdha is glossed as hawk-like, stately, fine or fortunate. Shay also serves in Ireland as a short form of Séamus and occasionally of Seán, which broadens its use beyond the original root, and it doubles as a Hebrew name — Shai, meaning gift, is common in Israel for both sexes and reached English speakers separately. The two are unconnected and the shared sound is coincidence. The vehicle called a shay, as in the one-horse shay, is from the French chaise and has nothing to do with either.
Shay in use
Shay ranks 53rd in Ireland with 101 births in 2025 and is rising in our data with a peak in 2021. Our data records it as unisex. It holds 156th in Scotland and 1,227th in the United States, where the Hebrew Shai contributes separately. Our records carry it from 1932, well before the current climb, which reflects its older life as a short form of Séamus.
How popular is Shay?
In 2025, Shay was given to 261 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Shay 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 Shay
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Shay also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Shay over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Shay 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 Shay
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Shay — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Shay
What does the name Shay mean?
Shay means "hawk-like" or "stately," from the Irish séaghdha.
Is Shay short for Seamus?
It serves that way in Ireland, and occasionally for Seán, though it is a name in its own right.
Is Shay a boy's or a girl's name?
Both — our data records it as unisex.
Is Shay the same as the Hebrew Shai?
No. Shai means gift and reached English separately. The sound is a coincidence.
How popular is the name Shay?
In 2025, Shay was given to 261 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
How many syllables are in Shay?
Shay has 1 syllable.
When was Shay most popular?
Shay peaked in 2021, when 409 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Shay a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Shay currently ranks #53 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.