Kay

Did you know?

A few things about Kay you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Kay

Kay Panabaker

American actress

Choose Kay and your child shares a first name with Kay Panabaker, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Kay, like who?” Kay Panabaker's Wikipedia article is available in 34 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Kay Panabaker on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: John B. Mueller, CC BY 2.5 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 43,478 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Kay, 37 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Kay would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKay first shows up in US birth records in 1882, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 143 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1941, when it ranked #70. Today it's #3,903, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendKay has slipped 357 places over the last five years and now sits at #3,903. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• ⚖️Boy or girlKay is given to both boys and girls: 79% of the 47 babies named Kay in 2025 were girls. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.

About the name Kay

Kay is a gender-neutral name of German and Greek origin. It has 3 letters and 1 syllable, starting with K and ending in “-kay”. US birth records list Kay for girls from 1885 to 2025, in 141 of those 141 years. Its best year was 1941, when it ranked #70 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #3,903, with 37 babies. Of the 47 US babies named Kay in 2025, 79% were girls and 21% were boys.

Origin:German namesGreek names