Skye
Masculine · “winged isle”
Skye is given to both — 2,903 boys and 24,262 girls since 1880. See Skye as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Skye is the Hebridean island, and its Gaelic name An t-Eilean Sgitheanach may mean the winged isle — for its peninsulas.
How old is the name Skye?
Skye first appears in US birth records in 1957 — 68 years ago. The typical Skye alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 2,800 people named Skye are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Skye most popular?
Skye peaked in 1996, reaching #1292 nationally. Today it ranks #2332, 1,040 places below that high. See the whole 1996 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Sgitheanach to Skye
The story of Skye
Skye's peninsulas radiate from a center, which is the basis of the winged reading, though Norse and Gaelic etymologies compete and none is settled. The English word sky is separately from a Norse word for a cloud. Skye is used for both sexes and appears in American records in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
winged isle; or sky
Two routes. The island of Skye, whose Gaelic name is often read as 'winged' from sgiath, for the shape of its peninsulas, though the derivation is disputed. Or the English word sky, from the Old Norse ský, 'cloud'. Both feed the modern name.
How the name formed
- Sgitheanach
- Skye
Related forms: Sgitheanach · Sky
Pronouncing Skye
SKY
One syllable. Skye and Sky are homophones; only the spelling differs.
Nicknames for Skye
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
- 1957
- Most boys named
- 200086 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1292reached in 1996
- Change vs 2024
- −6.3%59 in 2025, from 63
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.
Skye in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sgitheanach in Scottish Gaelic — related form
- Sky in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Washington.
Skyes among us
people named Skye are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 28,950 born in 2025 was named Skye
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 Rufino test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Skye's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rufino climbed just as high around 1927, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rufino's path sketches the road Skye is walking now.
Skye 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 Skye is headed
Skye 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.
Skye beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Skye in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The winged-isle reading is vivid and matches the map.
- One syllable, clean, and never mispronounced.
- That 'sky' comes from a word for a cloud is a genuinely good fact.
- It reads as more feminine than masculine in America.
- The island's etymology is genuinely disputed.
- Sky and Skye are both in circulation.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Skye 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 Skye? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Skye
Masculine · #2332 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Skyes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,800 people named Skye are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Skye in 2025?
- Skye ranks #2332 among US boy names in 2025, with 59 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Skye?
- About 1 in every 28,950 US boys born in 2025 was named Skye — 59 in all.
- Will my child share the name Skye with classmates?
- Skye will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Skye
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rishaan#2332 · Harlen#2332 · Kobi#2332 · Keyon#2332 · Oak#2332 · Layth#2332 · Merlin#2332 · Saad#2332
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Skye? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Skye 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