Tay
Masculine
Tay is given to both — 205 boys and 55 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Tay entered the US charts in 1939, peaked at #3480 in 1939, ranks #7679 in 2025 — given to only a few children a year.
How old is the name Tay?
Tay first appears in US birth records in 1939 — 86 years ago. The typical Tay alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 200 people named Tay are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tay most popular?
Tay peaked in 1939, reaching #3480 nationally. Today it ranks #7679, 4,199 places below that high. See the whole 1939 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
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
- 1939
- Most boys named
- 200113 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3480reached in 1939
- Change vs 2024
- +11.1%10 in 2025, from 9
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.
Tays among us
people named Tay are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 170,808 born in 2025 was named Tay
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Tay
- #7679
- Tay on the 2025 chart
- #865
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Tay went to 10 boys in 2025, but Tai is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 63, which makes it the 865th most-given boys’ name of the year — 6,814 places above the chart.
- Tai53
- Tay10
About 1 boy in 27,112 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 170,808 for Tay itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Juana test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Tay's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Juana climbed just as high around 1920, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Juana's path sketches the road Tay is walking now.
Tay 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
Tay beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Tay in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
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Tay
Masculine · #7679 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Tays are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Tay are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Tay?
- Tay is one of 2 recorded spellings. Tai is the more common one — 53 births in 2025 against 10 for Tay.
- How popular is the name Tay in 2025?
- Tay ranks #7679 among US boy names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Tay?
- About 1 in every 170,808 US boys born in 2025 was named Tay — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Tay with classmates?
- Tay will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Tay
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Early#7679 · Obie#7679 · Huston#7679 · Knute#7679 · Rance#7679 · Blain#7679 · Doyle#7679 · Millard#7679
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tay? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Tay and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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