Kay

Girl Welsh #3345 in 2023

Kay is a girl name of Welsh origin.

Meaning of Kay

Derived from the surnames, or from a rare medieval given name (as the Sir Kay of Arthurian legend), Welsh Cai, Latinized as Caius, related to the modern male name Kai.

Popularity of Kay

Popularity, 1882–2023

61 births in 2023

1882 2023

98,545 U.S. births recorded from 1882–2023. Used for both boys and girls — see notes below.

Peak year

1942

3,719 babies

First recorded

1882

141 years of history

Recent trend

Steady

Last 5 yrs vs. prior 5

Similar names

Kenneth

Boy · Scottish Gaelic

Originally used in Scotland, popular in all English-speaking countries in the 20th century

Kevin

Boy · Irish

Name of a seventh-century Irish saint, from Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Cóemgen

Karen

Girl · Ancient Greek

From Karen, a vernacular form of Catherine that arose in medieval Denmark

Kimberly

Girl · English

Popular in the 1960s and the 1970s

From several places in Scotland and Northern Ireland, derived from Gaelic caol (“narrows”)

About this page

Popularity counts come from the U.S. Social Security Administration's national dataset. Etymology adapted from Wiktionary under CC BY-SA 4.0. If you spot an error, please let us know.