as a First Name
Pet form of any of the various names beginning with the letter K- (compare Dee and Jay), most notably Katherine and its many variants. It is also used independently. As a boy's name it may in part make reference to the name of the Arthurian knight Sir Kay, although he is not a particularly attractive character. His name is probably a Celticized form of Latin Gaius, an ancient Roman personal name of uncertain derivation. As a girl's name it was famous as that of the actress Kay Kendall (1926–59, original name Justine McCarthy).
| 348th in the U.S. for 2011 |
Nicknames & variations
Quick facts
- Tens of Thousands
- of people in the U.S have this name
- 169,962
- to be exact (as of February 2011)
- South Dakota
- has the most people named Kay per capita
- 1939
- marked the height of its popularity
99%
1%
75%
55+
55+
24%
30-54
30-54
0.98%
13-29
13-29
0.41%
0-12
0-12
Top state populations
U.S. Distribution Map
