Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2021

Shay

Gender Unisex · 62% girls Rank 2025 #1,227 Trend → Stable
Rank 2025
#1,227
among girls · ↓68 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
261
named Shay · -15% vs 2024
How common
1 in 8,735
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2021
409 babies
All-time total
13,251
#1,880 all-time among girls
First recorded
1932
in Social Security records

Shay popularity over time

13,251 babies have been named Shay since 1932, 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
0.050.10.150.218801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – 5 5 1 – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s 55 15 70 7 – #3,128
1960s 275 176 451 45 +544% #1,663
1970s 1,086 726 1,812 181 +302% #894
1980s 1,067 846 1,913 191 +6% #1,062
1990s 1,449 1,146 2,595 260 +36% #1,106
2000s 1,323 853 2,176 218 -16% #1,252
2010s 1,447 694 2,141 214 -2% #1,184
2020s (to 2025) 1,525 563 2,088 348 +63% #903

Where Shay 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 186 0.12 outside top 500
2027 188 0.12 outside top 500
2028 190 0.12 outside top 500
2029 191 0.12 outside top 500
2030 193 0.12 outside top 500

Where Shay is most popular

Girls named Shay per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.154 per 1,000. Strongest in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Minnesota.

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 Shay 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
Massachusetts 49 0.405 +163%
New Jersey 73 0.404 +163%
Minnesota 38 0.352 +129%
Illinois 76 0.332 +116%
Wisconsin 32 0.311 +102%
Pennsylvania 66 0.279 +81%
New York 104 0.263 +71%
Connecticut 13 0.223 +45%
Michigan 40 0.220 +43%
Missouri 26 0.216 +40%
California 170 0.202 +31%
Washington 26 0.180 +17%
Colorado 19 0.170 +11%
Arizona 22 0.157 ≈ national
Oregon 10 0.154 ≈ national
Iowa 7 0.120 -22%
Ohio 28 0.118 -23%
Florida 48 0.112 -27%
Nevada 5 0.108 -30%
Indiana 15 0.107 -31%
Oklahoma 5 0.068 -56%
Texas 54 0.067 -56%
Virginia 11 0.065 -58%
Utah 5 0.060 -61%
South Carolina 5 0.056 -64%
Maryland 5 0.047 -69%
North Carolina 10 0.044 -71%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
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 Shay

Shay is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,227 in 2025 with 184 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1932, 13,251 American babies have been named Shay, about 62% girls and 38% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2021, when 409 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Shay stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Shay?

The median living Shay is about 26 years old; half are between 10 and 39. An estimated 13 thousand people named Shay are alive in the United States today.

median 26 020406080100

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

Shay 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 184 #1,227 77 #1,989
2024 208 #1,159 98 #1,706
2023 255 #1,000 90 #1,802
2022 301 #914 102 #1,693
2021 300 #903 109 #1,589
2020 277 #934 87 #1,763
2019 199 #1,184 74 #1,996
2018 168 #1,344 87 #1,774
2017 180 #1,307 72 #1,999
2016 171 #1,378 88 #1,761
2015 172 #1,379 62 #2,205
2014 144 #1,525 53 #2,424
2013 115 #1,791 53 #2,395
2012 84 #2,261 61 #2,181
2011 102 #1,951 76 #1,860
2010 112 #1,828 68 #2,031
2009 109 #1,930 86 #1,772
2008 148 #1,559 75 #1,929
2007 127 #1,721 88 #1,719
2006 122 #1,721 92 #1,594
2005 123 #1,638 90 #1,567
2004 141 #1,451 92 #1,482
2003 131 #1,493 101 #1,355
2002 140 #1,384 75 #1,617
2001 125 #1,504 61 #1,837
2000 157 #1,252 93 #1,369
1995 161 #1,106 129 #981
1990 128 #1,277 118 #962
1985 93 #1,392 73 #1,091
1980 134 #1,062 87 #966
1975 98 #1,190 74 #959
1970 133 #958 69 #976
1965 33 #2,057 8 #3,211
1960 11 #4,129 12 #2,521
1955 5 #6,570 – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Shay

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

  1. 1 Shay Mitchell Shay Mitchell Canadian actress (born 1987) Contemporary
  2. 2 Shay Given Shay Given Irish association football player (born 1976) Contemporary
  3. 3 Shay Brennan Shay Brennan Irish footballer (1937–2000) Contemporary
  4. 4 Shay Logan Shay Logan English footballer b. 1988 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Shay?

The median living Shay is about 26 years old. Half of all living Shays are between 10 and 39 years old.

How many people named Shay are alive today?

An estimated 13 thousand people named Shay are alive in the United States, based on 13,251 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

How popular is the name Shay in 2025?

Shay ranked #1,227 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 184 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Shay?

13,251 babies have been named Shay in the United States since 1932, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Shay most popular?

Shay peaked in 2021, when 409 newborns received the name.

Is Shay a boy or girl name?

Shay is used for both: about 62% of babies named Shay have been girls and 38% boys.

Is the name Shay rising or falling?

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

Will Shay become more popular?

Shay looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 193 girls named Shay in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Shay?

Well-known people named Shay include Shay Mitchell (actor), Shay Given (soccer player), Shay Brennan (soccer player).

Names like Shay

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

Compare Shay with similar names → More names starting with S →