Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1942

Kay

Gender Girl · 4% boys Rank 2025 #3,946 Trend ↓ Falling 15%
Rank 2025
#3,946
among girls · ↓20 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
47
named Kay · -10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 43,440
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1942
3,718 babies
All-time total
102,545
#379 all-time among girls
First recorded
1882
in Social Security records

Kay popularity over time

102,545 babies have been named Kay since 1882, 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
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 31 11 42 4 – #987
1890s 122 16 138 14 +229% #654
1900s 452 39 491 49 +256% #402
1910s 2,173 292 2,465 247 +402% #355
1920s 2,665 760 3,425 343 +39% #370
1930s 17,301 1,306 18,607 1,861 +443% #76
1940s 32,654 725 33,379 3,338 +79% #70
1950s 24,645 321 24,966 2,497 -25% #120
1960s 12,390 164 12,554 1,255 -50% #192
1970s 2,517 64 2,581 258 -79% #455
1980s 1,409 55 1,464 146 -43% #916
1990s 869 47 916 92 -37% #1,393
2000s 635 18 653 65 -29% #2,129
2010s 504 40 544 54 -17% #2,723
2020s (to 2025) 254 66 320 53 -2% #3,349

Where Kay 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 36 0.02 outside top 500
2027 35 0.02 outside top 500
2028 34 0.02 outside top 500
2029 33 0.02 outside top 500
2030 33 0.02 outside top 500

The story of Kay

Kay is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #3,946 in 2025 with 37 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1882, 102,545 American babies have been named Kay. Its peak came in 1942, when 3,718 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 Kay stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Kay?

The median living Kay is about 73 years old; half are between 65 and 80. An estimated 65 thousand people named Kay are alive in the United States today.

median 73 020406080100

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

Kay 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 37 #3,946 10 #7,951
2024 38 #3,926 14 #6,334
2023 48 #3,349 13 #6,719
2022 47 #3,391 10 #8,049
2021 42 #3,644 9 #8,517
2020 42 #3,577 10 #7,805
2019 43 #3,586 7 #10,303
2018 63 #2,723 6 #11,492
2017 51 #3,175 8 #9,294
2016 47 #3,399 5 #13,233
2015 43 #3,632 8 #9,163
2014 60 #2,870 6 #11,439
2013 51 #3,204 – –
2012 52 #3,191 – –
2011 47 #3,432 – –
2010 47 #3,443 – –
2009 41 #3,836 – –
2008 46 #3,555 – –
2007 66 #2,768 – –
2006 63 #2,795 – –
2005 61 #2,746 5 #12,409
2004 67 #2,515 7 #9,462
2003 66 #2,477 6 #10,250
2002 79 #2,129 – –
2001 72 #2,249 – –
2000 74 #2,163 – –
1995 82 #1,768 5 #9,603
1990 114 #1,393 5 #8,823
1985 139 #1,063 – –
1980 153 #969 5 #6,766
1975 206 #720 – –
1970 476 #455 8 #3,677
1965 1,021 #270 17 #1,961
1960 1,925 #192 29 #1,504
1955 2,327 #157 36 #1,260
1950 2,628 #123 32 #1,278
1945 3,058 #91 51 #893
1940 3,200 #77 124 #522
1935 1,648 #134 150 #465
1930 351 #358 105 #588
1925 248 #439 67 #811
1920 313 #370 65 #839
1915 243 #386 31 #1,172
1910 106 #382 6 #1,510
1905 49 #485 5 #1,335
1900 26 #714 7 #1,111
1895 10 #1,088 – –
1890 5 #1,423 – –
1885 6 #987 – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Kay

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

  1. 1 Kay Kay Menon Kay Kay Menon Indian actor (Born October 1966) Contemporary
  2. 2 Kay Ivey Kay Ivey Governor of Alabama since 2017 b. 1944 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Kay Lenz Kay Lenz American actress (born 1953) Contemporary
  4. 4 Kay Parker Kay Parker English pornographic film actress (1944–2022) Contemporary
  5. 5 Kay Panabaker Kay Panabaker American actress (born 1990) Contemporary
  6. 6 Kay Kendall Kay Kendall English actress and singer (1927–1959) Contemporary
  7. 7 Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison American politician and diplomat b. 1943 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Kay Francis Kay Francis American actress (1905–1968) Contemporary
  9. 9 Kay Hagan Kay Hagan American lawyer, banking executive, and politician (1953–2019) Contemporary
  10. 10 Kay Sage Kay Sage American Surrealist artist, poet (1898–1963) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Kay?

The median living Kay is about 73 years old. Half of all living Kays are between 65 and 80 years old.

How many people named Kay are alive today?

An estimated 65 thousand people named Kay are alive in the United States, based on 102,545 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

How popular is the name Kay in 2025?

Kay ranked #3,946 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 37 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Kay?

102,545 babies have been named Kay in the United States since 1882, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Kay most popular?

Kay peaked in 1942, when 3,718 newborns received the name.

Is Kay a boy or girl name?

Kay is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 96% of babies with the name.

Is the name Kay rising or falling?

Kay has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Kay become more popular?

Kay is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 33 girls named Kay in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Kay?

Well-known people named Kay include Kay Kay Menon (actor), Kay Ivey (politician), Kay Lenz (actor).

Names like Kay

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

Compare Kay with similar names → More names starting with K →