The first name Kay
A girl’s name from Welsh.
Pronounced /ˈkeɪ/ 1 syllable Female Also a surname
Meaning and origin
Welsh origin
A male given name from Welsh, 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.
Kay is a short form of
.From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 3 girls were named Kay, making it the 5,927th most popular girls’ name. It peaked in 1996, with 66 births (#448).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Kay with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Kay at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 37 girls born in the United States were named Kay, the 3,946th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1942, when 3,622 were.
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.
Nicknames and spellings
Other spellings and forms
- Kaye
- Keay
Famous people named Kay
59 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Kay PanabakerAmerican actress, born 1990
- Kay Bailey HutchisonAmerican politician (born 1943)
- Kay KendallEnglish actress (1927-1959)
- Kay FrancisAmerican actress (1905–1968)
- Kay HaganAmerican politician (1953-2019)
- Mary Kay BergmanAmerican voice actress, 1961–1999
- Charles Kay OgdenEnglish linguist, philosopher, writer (1889–1957)
- Kay LenzAmerican actress, born 1953
- Kay ParkerEnglish pornographic actress, 1944–2022
- Kay GrangerAmerican politician (1943–2026)
- Kay Redfield JamisonAmerican bipolar disorder researcher, born 1946
- Kay SageAmerican Surrealist artist and poet (1898–1963)
More Welsh girls’ names
Questions
- What is the origin of the name Kay?
- Kay comes from Welsh.
- How popular is the name Kay?
- In 2025, 3 girls born in England and Wales were named Kay, ranking 5,927th. Its peak was 1996, with 66 births.
- Is Kay a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 96% of the 102,545 US babies named Kay since 1880 were girls.
- When was Kay most popular?
- 1942 in the United States, when 3,622 babies were named Kay, its highest rank at 75th.
- How do you pronounce Kay?
- Kay is /ˈkeɪ/, one syllable.
- What are other spellings of Kay?
- Kaye and Keay.
- Is Kay also a surname?
- Yes. Kay is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.