Kay

#3,903 for girls in 2025, 37 births · #7,679 for boys in 2025, 10 births
Given to girls 96.2% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1941 · 3,538 births
Debut · girls
6 births
In top 100 · girls
10 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
98,621
since 1885

Kay over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201937peak #70, 1941girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#3,90337#7,67910
2024#3,89238#6,19914
2023#3,32948#6,51713
2022#3,36547#7,76810
2021#3,61442#8,1669
2020#3,54642#7,50210
2019#3,55243#9,7567
2018#2,71163#10,7606
2017#3,14551#8,8408
2016#3,37947#12,1855
2015#3,59543#8,7448
2014#2,84360#10,7176
2013#3,16651
2012#3,16952
2011#3,40747
2010#3,40947
2009#3,80041
2008#3,52946
2007#2,75066
2006#2,77863
2005#2,73161#11,4725
2004#2,50367#8,9277
2003#2,46566#9,5816
2002#2,12679
2001#2,23672
2000#2,15874
1999#2,25866
1998#2,08370#9,6315
1997#1,94574
1996#2,05867#7,9716
1995#1,76182#8,8685
1994#1,68888#6,9687
1993#1,554100#7,6386
1992#1,507104#8,4355
1991#1,502104#5,9428
1990#1,385114#8,1175
1989#1,326117#7,9055
1988#1,104141#4,7869
1987#1,216118#5,4597
1986#1,122129#5,3327
1985#1,060139
1984#979147#5,5616
1983#973150
1982#981151#4,5938
1981#912164#4,5098
1980#966153#6,2505
1979#942156#4,4038
1978#913155#5,0596
1977#774195#4,5827
1976#755191#4,4187
1975#717206
1974#639239#3,5589
1973#581272#5,1015
1972#619251#4,4416
1971#503376#3,6588
1970#455476#3,5218
1969#432498#2,86110
1968#353637#2,73510
1967#327711#2,61110
1966#295856#2,7849
1965#2701,021#1,91817
1964#2431,301#1,90018
1963#2121,608#2,11515
1962#1971,878#1,80520
1961#1921,955#1,57026
1960#1921,925#1,48629
1959#1822,004#1,55926
1958#1692,238#1,55725
1957#1632,355#1,27837
1956#1542,394#1,51127
1955#1572,327#1,25536
1954#1462,506#1,24236
1953#1462,462#1,30433
1952#1332,768#1,24535
1951#1202,963#1,26134
1950#1232,628#1,27232
1949#1192,751#1,02946
1948#1132,943#1,09142
1947#1043,520#90659
1946#1013,358#1,03144
1945#913,058#88451
1944#883,170#74569
1943#813,494#64398
1942#753,622#65296
1941#703,538#61396
1940#773,200#521124
1939#763,260#511123
1938#813,114#532120
1937#793,010#506129
1936#982,408#482137
1935#1341,648#464150
1934#1431,430#447159
1933#200864#483135
1932#238658#521124
1931#259558#518124
1930#358351#584105
1929#447218#68980
1928#462223#69084
1927#419267#619102
1926#457224#72677
1925#439248#80967
1924#395302#75977
1923#396285#70185
1922#390281#86363
1921#383304#90160
1920#370313#83565
1919#354330#1,08240
1918#368311#86958
1917#376283#1,03340
1916#380272#93946
1915#386243#1,15931
1914#361215#1,15325
1913#381159#1,14620
1912#384143#1,13717
1911#382111#1,1909
1910#381106#1,4216
1909#40183
1908#41775#1,2176
1907#48953#1,2006
1906#54142#1,2535
1905#48549#1,2335
1904#52939
1903#52737#1,1305
1902#64826#1,1375
1901#68422
1900#70526#1,0507
1899#64423#1,0515
1898#92014
1897#82615#1,0575
1896#90313
1895#1,05310
1894#81214#9546
1893#73916
1892#1,1717
1891#1,3325
1890#1,3385
1889#1,0257
1888#1,1366#9176
1887#1,0366
1886#9936
1885#9216
1884
1883
1882#9435
1881
1880
First appearance
1885

The first year at least five girls were named Kay! It came in at #921, and was given to 6 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1885–1892, when fewer than 8 girls a year got the name.

See more about Kay
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 11 spots since 2024 (#3,892#3,903)
  • 357 spots since 2020 (#3,546#3,903)
  • 308 spots since 2015 (#3,595#3,903)
  • Biggest jump: 432 spots in 1893 (#1,171#739)
  • Biggest drop: 241 spots in 1895 (#812#1,053)
Rise & fade · girls
56 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1885
  • Peaked 1941 at #70 (3,538 births)
  • Births halved by 1963, 22 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 100 for 10 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 10 yrs · run 1936–1945
  • Top 1,000: 93 yrs · run 1896–1984
Share of babies · girls
1 in 336
  • Highest: 1 in 336 girls born in 1939 were named Kay (0.30%)
  • Latest: 1 in 43,440 girls born in 2025 (0.00%)
  • Its best rank, #70 in 1941, was only 1 in 341 (0.29%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1940s
  • 33.1% of all girls named Kay (32,654) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s31#921 (1885)#1,022
1890s122#644 (1899)#974
1900s452#401 (1909)#543
1910s2,173#354 (1919)#375
1920s2,665#370 (1920)#416
1930s17,301#76 (1939)#167
1940s32,654#70 (1941)#92
1950s24,645#120 (1951)#149
1960s12,390#192 (1961)#271
1970s2,517#455 (1970)#690
1980s1,409#912 (1981)#1,064
1990s869#1,385 (1990)#1,774
2000s635#2,126 (2002)#2,708
2010s504#2,711 (2018)#3,238
2020s254#3,329 (2023)#3,608

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Kay in 1937

girls
#79
3,010 births · 1 in 353 girls
boys
#506
129 births · 1 in 8,269 boys

Top girls' names in 1937

  1. #1Mary55,641
  2. #2Barbara34,917
  3. #3Patricia26,838
  4. #4Shirley26,823
  5. #5Betty25,337
  6. #6Carol17,336
  7. #7Nancy17,074
  8. #8Dorothy16,572
  9. #9Joan15,301
  10. #10Margaret15,144
  11. #79Kay3,010

Top boys' names in 1937

  1. #1Robert61,842
  2. #2James56,561
  3. #3John48,755
  4. #4William40,725
  5. #5Richard32,975
  6. #6Charles30,520
  7. #7Donald27,868
  8. #8David20,981
  9. #9Thomas19,772
  10. #10George18,439
  11. #506Kay129
More about 1937

girls

1,064,033 girls got a published name in 1937; 1 in 353 of them was named Kay, which outranked 98.4% of the 4,930 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.6% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Kay
  1. #76Diane3,175
  2. #77Yvonne3,171
  3. #78Thelma3,062
  4. #79Kay3,010
  5. #80Wilma2,977
  6. #81Florence2,955
  7. #82Josephine2,942
Biggest movers since 1936
Risers
  1. 3,217Noreta#4,181#964
  2. 2,845Noretta#3,701#856
  3. 2,351Leilani#3,103#752
  4. 1,407Deann#2,263#856
  5. 1,209Norita#1,741#532
Fallers
  1. 438Dorla#951#1,389
  2. 331Vilma#951#1,282
  3. 303Imelda#979#1,282
  4. 297Lulu#695#992
  5. 292Lyda#840#1,132

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,066,659 boys got a published name in 1937; 1 in 8,269 of them was named Kay, which outranked 87.4% of the 4,020 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 33.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Kay
  1. #503Royal131
  2. #504Bradford130
  3. #504Bud130
  4. #506Kay129
  5. #506Elroy129
  6. #508Blaine128
  7. #508Elmo128
  8. #508Rocco128

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1936
Risers
  1. 1,923Tyrone#2,629#706
  2. 558Lamont#1,540#982
  3. 540Lary#1,540#1,000
  4. 416Errol#906#490
  5. 399Levon#1,356#957
Fallers
  1. 492Gaston#989#1,481
  2. 461Gorden#827#1,288
  3. 432Sergio#940#1,372
  4. 371Landon#422#793
  5. 347Harlen#747#1,094

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1937