Kay

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 11 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Kay is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name322K records spelled Kay2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India

  Also written Kāy

• Spanish given name184K records spelled Kay31 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian

  Also written Käy, Káy, Kâÿ, Kâŷ, Kãy

• German given name116K records spelled Kay12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Germany, United States, Austria, United Kingdom

  Languages: German, English, Dutch

  Also written Kaey, Käy, Kây, Kåy, Kaeÿ

• Polish given name9.3K records spelled Kay6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States, United Kingdom, Croatia

  Languages: Polish, Croatian, Serbian

  Also written Kây

92 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Kay is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, from Lat Caius; from a quay/wharf; from ME ka/kay ‘jackdaw’; from ME kei ‘left’/clumsy; possibly key-maker or key-bearer; first attested Britius filius Kay 1199 P (Nth)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In German, from the place name in Frankfurt an der Oder

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In English, metonymic occupational name for a locksmith, from Middle English keye, kaye ‘key’. Compare Care, Kear.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, nickname from Middle English ca ‘jackdaw’, from an unattested Old Norse kd. See also Daw.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, nickname from Middle English cai, kay, kei ‘left-handed’, ‘clumsy’.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 142 years between 1882–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Kay Johnsonb. 1904USAmerican actress (1904–1975)
• Kay Medfordb. 1919USAmerican actress (1919–1980)
• Kay Kendallb. 1927GBEnglish actress (1927-1959)
• Tippi Hedrenb. 1930USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress, model and activist
• Kay Iveyb. 1944USGovernor of Alabama since 2017
• Xanana Gusmãob. 1946TLnot in their usual namePrime Minister and former President of East Timor
• Sandy Duncanb. 1946USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress, comedian, dancer and singer (born 1946)
• Mary Kay Bergmanb. 1961USAmerican voice actress
• Calista Flockhartb. 1964USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress
• Missi Pyleb. 1972USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress and singer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,015 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Kay?

We estimate roughly 98 thousand people bear Kay (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Kay have the most bearers?

Kay is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled kay.

Where is Kay most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Kay is densest in Finland — about 1 in 625 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Kay compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Kay is the 235th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Kay a male or female name?

Kay is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Kay mean?

Recorded meaning: (i) from the medieval male personal name Kay, of Celtic origin, perhaps ultimately from Latin Gaius; (ii) ‘key-maker’ or ‘key-bearer’; (iii) ‘person who lives by or works on a wharf’; (iv) nickname fo…