Name Awesome

Tay

#8,176 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Diminutive of Taylor

Tay has been given to 260 babies in the U.S. since 1939. In 2025 it ranked #8,176 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2001, with 13 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 79% boys, 21% girls all-time.

Babies named Tay, 2025

1 in 332,000

Tay over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Tay over time

In 2025, Tay went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19392025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Tay: meaning, origin, and history

Diminutive of Taylor

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Tay means

Tay is a diminutive of Taylor.

Origin, language, and formation

Tay is used in English and Turkish.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Taylor.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 205 boys were recorded with the name Tay between 1939 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 13 in 2001; its best national rank was #3,840 in 1955.

Over 10 years its rank rose, from #11,923 in 2015 to #8,176 in 2025.

In the United States, 55 girls were recorded with the name Tay between 1956 and 2018. Its highest annual count was 10 in 1964; its best national rank was #4,605 in 1964.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Tay?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 332,000
10 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 171,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#8,176
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
229,791 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Tay sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 229,791 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Tay. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Tays were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Tay was born before 2005 — so the typical Tay is around 20 today.

Median birth year
2005
About 20 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
30.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
66.8%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
200
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 30.2% of all recorded uses (62).

Is Tay rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+729
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
+3,747
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.67×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
76.9%
Peak was 2001 (13)
Years since peak
24
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
25.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#3,840
1955

Tay around the world

Where Tay ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2023
    #3,524
    in 2023
  • France
    2010–2025
    #6,468
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2005–2011
    #2,366
    in 2011
  • South Australia
    1950–2006
    #657
    in 2006

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Tay by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#8,176
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
New entry
Best rank ever
#3,840
1955
Peak year
2001
13 that year
First recorded
1939
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
205
Count in 2025
10

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#4,605
1964
Peak year
1964
10 that year
First recorded
1956
Last recorded
2018
All-time count
55
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Tay

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

TayoTaymTayeItayTayteTayronTayenTaysenTayvinTaytTayvianTayquanTaytenTaytumTayvenTayonTaylynTaysomTaygenTaylanTaylinAltayTaysonTayton

Sibling names for Tay

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Tay

Top names of 2001, Tay's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 1955Boys' names starting with T