Given name & surname
Shay
“of admirable character”·“from the fairy palace”·“an admirable man”
In English use, Shay has a related form in Shea. Interpretations include “of admirable character”, “from the fairy palace”, “an admirable man”, and “from the fairy fortress”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts. In English use, Shay is a diminutive of Seamus. In Irish use, Seamus carries the interpretation “he who supplants.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Shay has a related form in Shea. Interpretations include “of admirable character”, “from the fairy palace”, “an admirable man”, and “from the fairy fortress”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts. In English use, Shay is a diminutive of Seamus. In Irish use, Seamus carries the interpretation “he who supplants.” Shay is a variant of Shai. Interpretations include “a gift of God” and “a gift from God” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Shay has a related form in Shea. An origin associated with Shea is Irish. Shay is a variant of Shai. An origin associated with Shai is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Shay is a diminutive of Seamus.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1932. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Shay through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 13,251
- 5,024 boys · 8,227 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 409 babies
- 2025
- 261
- #1,227 for girls · #1,989 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +23%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 28% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 184 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,227 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 25.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 77 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (21). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 13,892 as a first name in 2020; 9,066 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.
Shay’s family of names
In English usage, Shay is a diminutive of Seamus. In English usage, Shay has a related form in Shea. In English usage, Shay has a related form in Shaye.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Shay has relatives in 3 languages.
5 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Shay
- Shay GivenIrish association football playerborn 1976
- Shay LoganEnglish association football player (born 1988)
- Shay AstarAmerican actress, singer-songwriterborn 1981
- Shay ElliottIrish racing cyclist (1934–1971)
- Shay FaceyEnglish association football player (born 1995)
- Shay MurphyAmerican basketball playerborn 1985
- Shay DoronIsraeli basketball player (born 1985)
- Shay RudolphAmerican actressborn 2005
- Shay CarlAmerican vloggerborn 1980
Characters named Shay: Shay Patrick Cormac (Assassin's Creed character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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