Cay
A feminine name of English origin meaning "little island".
Name Census estimates that about 165 living Americans carry the first name Cay. It is a predominantly female name (95.6% of registrations). The average person named Cay today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cay births was 1955 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cay. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Cay is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cays were born before 1966.
People living today
165
~ 1 in 2,077,299 Americans
Peak year
1955
38 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1927 SSA rank
#4,293
Tracked since 1919
Census
Cay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 514 people with the first name Cay, which placed it at #20,187 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,187
National first-name rank
People counted
514
514 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cay is White at 53.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (31.1%) and Black (7.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Cay described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Cay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.7% · 276
- Asian and Pacific Islander31.1% · 160
- Black or African American7.6% · 39
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 17
- Two or more races3.3% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Cay
Cay leans heavily female at 95.6% of total registrations, but 11 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Cay as a male name
- Ranked #4,293 in 1927
- 5 male births in 1927
- Peak: 1919 (6 births)
Cay as a female name
- Ranked #6,697 in 1966
- 5 female births in 1966
- Peak: 1955 (38 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cay leans strongly female. 430 people counted with this name were female (84.1%), compared with 81 male bearers (15.9%).
Popularity
Cay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cay from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 143 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Cay remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cay by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cay
The name Cay has its origins in the Old French language and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the French word "caye," which means a small, low-lying island or a sandbank. The name may have been initially given to individuals who lived or were born on such islands or coastal areas.
In ancient times, the name Cay was often associated with seafarers, fishermen, and those who lived near the sea. It was a popular name among coastal communities in France and other parts of Europe where French influence was strong.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cay can be found in the 13th-century French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland," which mentions a character named Cay. This literary reference suggests that the name was in use during the Middle Ages.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cay. One of the most famous was Cay Förster (1784-1836), a German-born botanist and naturalist who contributed significantly to the study of plant life in South America. Another prominent figure was Cay van Bruggen (1916-1991), a Dutch writer and artist known for her novels and paintings.
In the realm of sports, Cay Rivière (1914-1972) was a French cyclist who won several prestigious races, including the Tour de France in 1936. Cay Sal Bank, a large underwater atoll in the Bahamas, is named after a 17th-century Spanish pirate named Cay Sal, whose real name is unknown.
Cay Troensegaard Ancher (1888-1971) was a Danish painter and a member of the Skagen Painters, a group of artists who worked in the northern Danish town of Skagen during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the name Cay may not be as common as it once was, it has a rich history and cultural significance, particularly in coastal regions and among those with ties to the sea. Its origins and the stories of those who have borne this name throughout history serve as a reminder of the enduring connections between people and the natural world.
People
Cay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 165 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cay going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,077,299 US residents.
Is Cay a common name?
We classify Cay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 252 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cay most popular?
The single biggest year for Cay was 1955, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cay is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 514 people with the name Cay, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,187 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Cay in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Cay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cay leans strongly female. 430 people counted with this name were female (84.1%), compared with 81 male bearers (15.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Cay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cay is White at 53.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (31.1%) and Black (7.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Cay most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.7% (276 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Cay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cay a female name?
Yes, 95.6% of people registered as Cay in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Cay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cay in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Cay can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Cay as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Cay, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.