Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Cay isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1919. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cay through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 252
- 11 boys · 241 girls
- Most popular year
- 1955
- 38 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1966. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 38 in 1955. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 511 as a first name in 2020; 386 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cay’s family of names
The ring: across languages.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Cay
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cay, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kaye
“filled with happiness; rejoicing”
>99% girls
Cathy
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls
Kathrine
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls
Cathleen
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls
Raye
“son of grace” · “a wise protector”
>99% girls
Connie
“one who is steadfast; firm” · “one who is steadfast; constant”
>99% girls
Kim
“as precious as gold”
17% boys · 83% girls
Kathy
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% girls