girls' name ★ peaked 1943

Faye

Meaning A female given name, variant of Fay Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #515 Trend ↑ Rising 45%

A female given name, variant of Fay.

Rank 2025
#515
among girls · ↑24 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
579
named Faye · +3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,776
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1943
1,478 babies
All-time total
72,660
#470 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Faye popularity over time

72,660 babies have been named Faye since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 296 – 296 30 – #320
1890s 1,130 – 1,130 113 +282% #225
1900s 2,210 20 2,230 223 +97% #184
1910s 6,826 115 6,941 694 +211% #184
1920s 10,233 127 10,360 1,036 +49% #173
1930s 12,555 111 12,666 1,267 +22% #146
1940s 13,711 74 13,785 1,379 +9% #153
1950s 10,427 65 10,492 1,049 -24% #211
1960s 4,244 6 4,250 425 -59% #337
1970s 1,558 – 1,558 156 -63% #730
1980s 1,058 – 1,058 106 -32% #1,019
1990s 618 – 618 62 -42% #1,720
2000s 1,106 – 1,106 111 +79% #1,536
2010s 2,969 – 2,969 297 +168% #695
2020s (to 2025) 3,201 – 3,201 534 +80% #500

Where Faye is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 613 0.38 #488
2027 644 0.40 #476
2028 671 0.42 #461
2029 696 0.43 #445
2030 717 0.45 #433

Where Faye is most popular

Girls named Faye per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.344 per 1,000. Strongest in Montana, Utah, and New Hampshire.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Faye born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Montana 16 1.18 +244%
Utah 88 1.06 +208%
New Hampshire 19 1.03 +200%
Oregon 59 0.906 +164%
Kansas 48 0.832 +142%
Idaho 26 0.777 +126%
Massachusetts 90 0.744 +117%
Nebraska 26 0.723 +111%
Washington 100 0.692 +102%
Iowa 39 0.667 +94%
Missouri 76 0.631 +84%
Colorado 68 0.609 +77%
Minnesota 64 0.593 +73%
Illinois 129 0.564 +64%
New Mexico 13 0.535 +56%
Maine 8 0.517 +51%
Connecticut 30 0.516 +50%
Wisconsin 51 0.495 +44%
Ohio 110 0.464 +35%
Pennsylvania 109 0.461 +34%
North Dakota 6 0.456 +33%
New York 180 0.455 +32%
Indiana 63 0.449 +31%
Arizona 61 0.435 +27%
Michigan 77 0.423 +23%
South Dakota 6 0.420 +22%
South Carolina 31 0.345 ≈ national
California 286 0.340 ≈ national
Maryland 36 0.340 ≈ national
New Jersey 61 0.338 ≈ national
Virginia 57 0.334 ≈ national
Tennessee 52 0.328 ≈ national
Oklahoma 23 0.313 -9%
North Carolina 71 0.312 -9%
Louisiana 26 0.297 -14%
Texas 211 0.262 -24%
Georgia 56 0.247 -28%
Kentucky 21 0.246 -29%
Arkansas 12 0.227 -34%
Florida 97 0.227 -34%
Nevada 6 0.129 -62%
Alabama 7 0.075 -78%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Mississippi – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Faye

Faye is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #515 in 2025 with 579 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 72,660 American babies have been named Faye. Its peak came in 1943, when 1,478 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Faye stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Faye?

The median living Faye is about 70 years old; half are between 45 and 80. An estimated 35 thousand people named Faye are alive in the United States today.

median 70 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Faye year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 579 #515 – –
2024 563 #539 – –
2023 612 #500 – –
2022 537 #564 – –
2021 496 #603 – –
2020 414 #688 – –
2019 416 #695 – –
2018 415 #701 – –
2017 405 #709 – –
2016 349 #824 – –
2015 292 #930 – –
2014 297 #913 – –
2013 247 #1,010 – –
2012 234 #1,070 – –
2011 152 #1,475 – –
2010 162 #1,415 – –
2009 137 #1,633 – –
2008 140 #1,623 – –
2007 121 #1,774 – –
2006 111 #1,836 – –
2005 134 #1,536 – –
2004 111 #1,740 – –
2003 82 #2,132 – –
2002 102 #1,775 – –
2001 85 #2,000 – –
2000 83 #2,003 – –
1995 45 #2,698 – –
1990 74 #1,898 – –
1985 109 #1,252 – –
1980 121 #1,126 – –
1975 141 #920 – –
1970 204 #730 – –
1965 338 #519 – –
1960 782 #337 – –
1955 1,029 #263 – –
1950 1,271 #211 8 #2,855
1945 1,376 #169 8 #2,632
1940 1,391 #153 17 #1,702
1935 1,257 #161 6 #3,386
1930 1,099 #177 13 #2,219
1925 1,011 #201 10 #2,817
1920 935 #208 14 #2,256
1915 790 #209 20 #1,573
1910 312 #208 – –
1905 189 #228 – –
1900 194 #229 – –
1895 118 #260 – –
1890 59 #329 – –
1885 30 #376 – –
1880 8 #647 – –

Famous people named Faye

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Faye Dunaway Faye Dunaway American actress (born 1941) Contemporary
  2. 2 Faye Marsay Faye Marsay English actress (born 1986) Contemporary
  3. 3 Faye Wong Faye Wong Chinese singer-songwriter and actress (born 1969) Contemporary
  4. 4 Faye Grant Faye Grant American actress (born 1957) Contemporary
  5. 5 Faye Kellerman American novelist (born 1952) Contemporary
  6. 6 Faye White Faye White English footballer (born 1978) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Faye, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Faye?

The median living Faye is about 70 years old. Half of all living Fayes are between 45 and 80 years old.

How many people named Faye are alive today?

An estimated 35 thousand people named Faye are alive in the United States, based on 72,660 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Faye mean?

A female given name, variant of Fay.

How popular is the name Faye in 2025?

Faye ranked #515 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 579 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Faye?

72,660 babies have been named Faye in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Faye most popular?

Faye peaked in 1943, when 1,478 newborns received the name.

Is Faye a boy or girl name?

Faye is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Faye rising or falling?

Faye is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Faye become more popular?

Faye is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 717 girls named Faye in 2030, which would rank around #433. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Faye?

Well-known people named Faye include Faye Dunaway (actor), Faye Marsay (actor), Faye Wong (actor).

Names like Faye

Names that sound and feel close to Faye: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Faye with similar names → More names starting with F →