Fae
A feminine name derived from the English word for "fairy".
Name Census estimates that about 835 living Americans carry the first name Fae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fae today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fae births was 1916 (79 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fae. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Fae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
835
~ 1 in 410,484 Americans
Peak year
1916
79 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,216
Tracked since 1889
Census
Fae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,004 people with the first name Fae, which placed it at #12,402 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
#12,402
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,004 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fae is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.1%) and Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Fae 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 Fae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.6% · 789
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.1% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 59
- Black or African American4.2% · 42
- Two or more races3.3% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 10
Popularity
Fae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fae from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 560 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Fae remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fae 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 Fae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Faes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Utah, Texas recorded the most babies named Fae, while Nebraska, Indiana, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fae
The name Fae has its roots in the Old English word "fæger," which means "beautiful" or "fair." This term was often used to describe the ethereal and enchanting nature of fairies or supernatural beings. The name's origins can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th century in what is now England.
Fae is closely associated with the realm of fairies and folklore in British and Celtic traditions. In medieval literature and poetry, the term "fae" or "fey" was frequently used to refer to fairies, elves, and other mythical creatures. The name evokes a sense of mysticism, enchantment, and a connection to the natural world.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Fae can be found in the 14th-century Middle English romance poem "Sir Orfeo." In this work, the character of Fae is depicted as a fairy queen who rules over the kingdom of the fairies.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Fae. Fae Ellington (1914-1965) was an American jazz singer and bandleader who performed with her husband, Duke Ellington. Fae Desmond (1876-1965) was an American actress and singer who appeared on Broadway and in early films.
In the literary realm, Fae Myenne Ng (born 1957) is a Chinese-American author known for her novel "Bone." Fae Moyer (1856-1919) was a Canadian artist and painter who was part of the Impressionist movement in Canada.
Another notable figure was Fae Doubleday (1879-1962), an American artist and illustrator who created designs for books, magazines, and advertisements in the early 20th century.
While the name Fae is not as common as some other names, it has maintained a presence throughout history, evoking a sense of beauty, enchantment, and connection to the natural world. Its origins in Old English and its association with fairies and folklore have contributed to its enduring charm and mystique.
People
Fae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fae as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 835 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fae 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 410,484 US residents.
Is Fae a common name?
We classify Fae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,643 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fae most popular?
The single biggest year for Fae was 1916, when 79 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fae is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,004 people with the name Fae, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,402 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 Fae 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 Fae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fae leans strongly female. 983 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 20 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Fae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fae is White at 78.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.1%) and Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Fae most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.6% (789 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 Fae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fae 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 Fae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fae 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 Fae 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 share the name Fae?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.