Kaye
Feminine · Greek roots · “a short form of Katherine”
Kaye is given to both — 13,204 girls and 503 boys since 1880. See Kaye as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Kaye is Kay with a final e, one of the short names built from Katherine and its relatives. The comedian and singer Kaye Ballard shows the whole road in one life: she was born Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland and performed for decades as Kaye.
How old is the name Kaye?
Kaye first appears in US birth records in 1901 — 124 years ago. The typical Kaye alive today was born around 1950, making them about 75 years old. About 9,300 people named Kaye are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kaye most popular?
Kaye peaked in 1943, reaching #322 nationally. Today it ranks #6325, 6,003 places below that high. See the whole 1943 chart.
Where it comes from
From Aikaterine (Greek) to Kaye
The story of Kaye
Kay became a standing girls' name as a clipped Katherine, Kathleen or Kathryn, and the Kaye spelling grew up alongside it. Kaye Ballard, born Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, worked in nightclubs, on Broadway and on television, including the sitcom The Mothers-in-Law, and kept the stage name all her life. Her career is the name's history in small: a Catherine who became a Kaye.
Meaningscholars disagree
a short form of Katherine
For most girls Kaye is a pet form of Katherine or Kathleen, and what Katherine itself means is disputed. Kay is also an old man's name in Arthurian legend. The few boys recorded with this spelling have no source the record can separate from either road.
How the name formed
- AikaterineGreek
- KatherineEnglish
- Kay
- Kaye
Related forms: Kay
Pronouncing Kaye
KAY
One syllable, the same sound as the letter K; the final e is silent.
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
- 1901
- Most girls named
- 1946479 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #322reached in 1943
- Change vs 2023
- +157.1%18 in 2025, from 7
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.
Kaye in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kay in English — spelling variant
Kayes among us
people named Kaye are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 89,293 born in 2025 was named Kaye
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jannie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kaye's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jannie climbed just as high around 1910, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jannie's path sketches the road Kaye is walking now.
Kaye 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
Kaye beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kaye in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable, said exactly like the letter K.
- Works as a first or middle name, and pairs with any of the Kath- names.
- A clear, documented road from Katherine.
- It will be spelled Kay as often as Kaye, so expect to add 'with an e.'
- It is best known among women of an earlier generation, so it reads as a vintage choice.
- A few boys are recorded with it, from no source the record can show; a boy called Kaye will usually be read as a girl on paper.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kaye to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Kaye? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kaye
Feminine · Greek roots · #6325 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kayes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 9,300 people named Kaye are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kaye in 2025?
- Kaye ranks #6325 among US girl names in 2025, with 18 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kaye?
- About 1 in every 89,293 US girls born in 2025 was named Kaye — 18 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kaye with classmates?
- Kaye will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kaye
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Doria#6325 · Karolyn#6325 · Rosaleen#6325 · Roni#6325 · Darian#6325 · Svetlana#6325 · Yessenia#6325 · Fanny#6325
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kaye? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kaye and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle