Given name & surname
Tay
“from the river”
Tay is used as a given name and a surname. One Scottish interpretation is “from the river.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Scottish interpretation is “from the river.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Scottish.
How it developed
In English usage, Tay is a diminutive of Taylor.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1939. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Tay is a diminutive of Taylor. The history of Taylor gives this family its wider story. Taylor’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Tay through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 260
- 205 boys · 55 girls
- Most popular year
- 2001
- 13 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #8,180 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 8,180 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 13 in 2001. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,350 as a first name in 2020; 2,047 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.
Tay’s family of names
In English usage, Tay is a diminutive of Taylor. Tay has a related form in Tai. In English usage, Tay is a shortened form of Taylor.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
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 Tay
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Tay, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Leith
“from the broad river”
>99% boys
Murdock
“from the sea”
>99% boys
Kai
Kai is used in several naming traditions, with different explanations for the same spelling.
93% boys · 7% girls
Glain
“as precious as jewel”
75% boys · 25% girls
Nairn
“from the alder-tree river”
73% boys · 27% girls
Somerley
“of the summer sailors; from the summer meadow”
>99% boys
Mufidy
“a man of the sea”
>99% boys
Barkley
“birch tree” · “wood or clearing”
98% boys · 2% girls