first name
KAY
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 77,013 people named Kay, 84.8% reported their origin as White, 6.2% as Black and 5% as Asian or Pacific Islander. 97% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
What should your name go on next?
Thanks! We'll make the most-wanted one next.
Kay peaked in 1942, when 3,718 babies got the name.
At least 102,545 babies have been given the name since 1882. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Kay by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1940s, when it ranked #185. The largest share of babies named Kay, 45.3%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Kay is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Kay has been most common in South Dakota (3.1×), Iowa (2.7×), and Wisconsin (2.6×), and least common in New Hampshire (0.12×).
94,956 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Kay
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Kay, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Kay ranks #1,538 of 156,621, with 22,730 people. See Kay as a last name
Compare
🔎 KAY 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 3,922 Americans Rarer than 64.1% of us Peaked in 1942 with 3,718 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/kay/