The first name Gay
A girl’s name.
1 syllable Female Also a surname
Meaning and origin
A female given name from English, from the word gay (“joyful”); rare today.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Gay at birth, 1880–2025
In 1982, 6 girls born in the United States were named Gay, the 9,597th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1959, when 682 were.
GirlsBoys
19,367
babies named Gay since 1880
#9,597
rank in 1982
1959
peak year
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Famous people named Gay
2 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Marcia Gay HardenAmerican actress, born 1959
- Gay TaleseAmerican writer (born 1932)
Questions
- Is Gay a boy's or a girl's name?
- Both. Of the 19,367 US babies named Gay since 1880, 93% were girls and 7% boys.
- When was Gay most popular?
- 1959 in the United States, when 682 babies were named Gay, its highest rank at 362nd.
- Is Gay also a surname?
- Yes. Gay is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.