Fay
Feminine · “fairy”
Fay is given to both — 32,059 girls and 4,118 boys since 1880. See Fay as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Fay is a fairy. The Middle English fay meant an enchanted being long before it meant anything else, and it is the word inside 'fairy' itself — and inside Morgan le Fay, who is the enchantress rather than the woman.
How old is the name Fay?
Fay was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Fay alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 10,500 people named Fay are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Fay most popular?
Fay peaked in 1907, reaching #202 nationally. Today it ranks #3780, 3,578 places below that high. See the whole 1907 chart.
Where it comes from
From fata to Fay
The story of Fay
Fay entered English as a common noun in the fourteenth century and reached most readers through Arthurian romance, where Morgan le Fay's byname marks her as an enchantress. Its life as a given name is nineteenth-century, part of a broader Victorian taste for words drawn from folklore and nature. American use rose through the 1900s and peaked around 1917, alongside Faye, which is the commoner spelling.
Meaningscholars disagree
fairy, enchanted being
From the Middle English fay, 'fairy', from the Old French fae and ultimately the Latin fata, 'the Fates'. The word 'fairy' is fay plus a suffix. A competing reading takes the name as a short form of Faith, which is a quite different word from the Latin fides — and both were in American use.
How the name formed
- fata
- fae
- fay
- Fay
Related forms: Faye · Fée · Fata
Pronouncing Fay
FAY
One syllable, rhyming with 'day'. Fay and Faye are said identically.
Nicknames for Fay
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1916676 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #202reached in 1907
- Change vs 2022
- +2.6%39 in 2025, from 38
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Fay in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Faye in English — spelling variant
- Fée in French — related form
- Fata in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Fays among us
people named Fay are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 41,212 born in 2025 was named Fay
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Fay sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Fay is headed
Fay should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Fay beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Fay in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is vivid and concrete and comes with a whole folklore attached.
- One syllable that works beautifully as a middle name, which is where many bearers carry it.
- It is completely phonetic and never mispronounced.
- Fay and Faye are both established spellings and neither is dominant.
- The origin is genuinely split between the fairy word and a shortening of Faith.
- It is period-coded to the early twentieth century.
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What they receive
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Fay
Feminine · #3780 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Fays are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 10,500 people named Fay are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Fay in 2025?
- Fay ranks #3780 among US girl names in 2025, with 39 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Fay?
- About 1 in every 41,212 US girls born in 2025 was named Fay — 39 in all.
- Will my child share the name Fay with classmates?
- Fay will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Fay
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kimberlyn#3780 · Jonah#3780 · Aine#3780 · Jakayla#3780 · Shriya#3780 · Analeigh#3780 · Daliyah#3780 · Jamia#3780
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Fay? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Fay and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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