# Shay (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/shay/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | Irish |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Shaye |
| US babies named this | 13,251 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 5,024 / 8,227 (62% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 5,613, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Variant of Shea, from Irish Ó Séaghdha.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 102 | 1,951 |
| 2012 | 84 | 2,261 |
| 2013 | 115 | 1,791 |
| 2014 | 144 | 1,525 |
| 2015 | 172 | 1,379 |
| 2016 | 171 | 1,378 |
| 2017 | 180 | 1,307 |
| 2018 | 168 | 1,344 |
| 2019 | 199 | 1,184 |
| 2020 | 277 | 934 |
| 2021 | 300 | 903 |
| 2022 | 301 | 914 |
| 2023 | 255 | 1,000 |
| 2024 | 208 | 1,159 |
| 2025 | 184 | 1,227 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 76 | 1,860 |
| 2012 | 61 | 2,181 |
| 2013 | 53 | 2,395 |
| 2014 | 53 | 2,424 |
| 2015 | 62 | 2,205 |
| 2016 | 88 | 1,761 |
| 2017 | 72 | 1,999 |
| 2018 | 87 | 1,774 |
| 2019 | 74 | 1,996 |
| 2020 | 87 | 1,763 |
| 2021 | 109 | 1,589 |
| 2022 | 102 | 1,693 |
| 2023 | 90 | 1,802 |
| 2024 | 98 | 1,706 |
| 2025 | 77 | 1,989 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 11 | 2,275 |
| 2012 | 9 | 2,717 |
| 2013 | 9 | 2,649 |
| 2014 | 15 | 1,882 |
| 2015 | 15 | 1,865 |
| 2016 | 16 | 1,834 |
| 2017 | 24 | 1,371 |
| 2018 | 7 | 3,178 |
| 2019 | 6 | 3,541 |
| 2020 | 17 | 1,687 |
| 2021 | 9 | 2,711 |
| 2022 | 15 | 1,849 |
| 2023 | 9 | 2,689 |
| 2024 | 13 | 2,115 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4,867 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 255 | 206 |
| 2012 | 282 | 197 |
| 2013 | 202 | 247 |
| 2014 | 204 | 253 |
| 2015 | 195 | 262 |
| 2016 | 136 | 344 |
| 2017 | 166 | 302 |
| 2018 | 124 | 366 |
| 2019 | 97 | 426 |
| 2020 | 104 | 398 |
| 2021 | 110 | 393 |
| 2022 | 106 | 399 |
| 2023 | 95 | 415 |
| 2024 | 106 | 389 |
| 2025 | 73 | 529 |

## People named Shay

- Shay Astar, American actress, singer-songwriter
- Shay Jordan, American pornographic actress
- Shay Facey, English association football player (born 1995)
- Shay Murphy, American basketball player
- Shay Sweet, American pornographic actress
- Shay Laren, American pornographic actress
- Shay Hatten, American screenwriter
- Shay Sights, Canadian pornographic actress
- Shaleum Logan, English association football player (born 1988)
- Kean Bryan, English association football player (born 1996)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.