Kay

Where Kay comes from

The dictionaries list Kay as a given name — a surname from Middle English, derived from several Old and Middle English words; also adopted by immigrants whose surnames began with a K — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • Welsh
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1885
    First appearance
    #921 among girls, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1885
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  3. 1941
    Peak, #70
    3,538 babies named Kay — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1944
    Kay Ivey born
    Governor of Alabama since 2017
  5. 1963
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #212.
  6. 1990
    Kay Panabaker born
    American actress
In the dictionary
  • A surname from Middle English, derived from several Old and Middle English words; also adopted by immigrants whose surnames began with a K.
  • 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.
  • A female given name, a short form of Katherine and other female names beginning with a "K"; popular as a middle name.
Namesakes
  • Kay Ivey · Governor of Alabama since 2017, born 1944
  • Kay Panabaker · American actress, born 1990
  • Kay Bailey Hutchison · American politician, born 1943
  • Kay Francis · American actress, 1905–1968
  • Kay Kendall · English actress, 1927–1959

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.