# Kay (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/kay/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Middle English, derived from several Old and Middle English words; also adopted by immigrants whose surnames began with a K.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 24,337 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,467 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 12,686 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.0% (23,189 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkeɪ/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Kaye, Keay |

## Who carries it

Share of people named Kay in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 86% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 5.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 3.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Kay in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

## People named Kay

- Alan Kay, American computer scientist (born 1940)
- Robbie Kay, British actor
- John Kay, American rock musician
- Connie Kay, American drummer (1927–1994)
- Nick Kay, Australian basketball player (born 1992)
- Emily Kay, British cyclist
- Sarah Kay, American poet
- Allysin Kay, American professional wrestler
- Lesli Kay, American actress (born 1965)
- Stephen Kay, American actor, director and writer of film and television
- Dianne Kay, American actress
- Andrew Kay, American businessman (1919–2014)

and 6 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Kao, Kai, Kaye, Kaya, Key, Ko, Kee, Kehoe, Kuo, Koo, Ku, Koh.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.