Fay
A feminine name derived from the Middle English "fay" meaning "fairy".
Name Census estimates that about 8,821 living Americans carry the first name Fay. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Fay today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fay births was 1915 (842 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fay. 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 Fay with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Fay is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Fays were born before 1968.
People living today
8.8K
~ 1 in 38,857 Americans
Peak year
1915
842 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1976 SSA rank
#3,403
Tracked since 1880
Census
Fay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 13,766 people with the first name Fay, which placed it at #1,995 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
#1,995
National first-name rank
People counted
14K
13,766 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fay is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Fay 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 Fay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.6% · 9,860
- Black or African American15.8% · 2,179
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 986
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 341
- Two or more races2.3% · 311
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 89
Gender
Gender distribution for Fay
Fay leans heavily female at 88.6% of total registrations, but 4,118 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Fay as a male name
- Ranked #4,135 in 1976
- 8 male births in 1976
- Peak: 1916 (153 births)
Fay as a female name
- Ranked #3,403 in 2024
- 46 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1926 (722 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fay leans strongly female. 13,102 people counted with this name were female (95.1%), compared with 673 male bearers (4.9%).
Popularity
Fay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fay 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 7,425 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fay 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 Fay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Texas recorded the most babies named Fay, while New Hampshire, Delaware, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 559 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fay
The name Fay is derived from the Middle English word "fay", which means "fairy". This name has its origins in the Old French word "fee", which also means "fairy". The Old French word "fee" is derived from the Latin word "fatae", meaning "the fates" or "destinies". The name is associated with concepts of magic, enchantment, and the otherworldly realm of fairies and supernatural beings.
In medieval literature and folklore, fays or fairies were often depicted as mischievous, whimsical creatures with magical powers. The name Fay was likely bestowed upon children with the hope that they would possess the charm, grace, and ethereal qualities associated with these mythical creatures.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Fay can be found in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written in the late 14th century. In the "Wife of Bath's Tale", the character of the old woman is referred to as "Fay". This early literary reference suggests that the name was in use during the Middle Ages in England.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Fay. One of the earliest was Fay Weldon (1931-2023), an English author, essayist, and playwright known for her satirical and feminist works, such as "The Life and Loves of a She-Devil".
In the realm of art, Fay Wray (1907-2004) was an American actress best known for her role in the iconic film "King Kong" (1933), in which she played the object of the giant ape's affection.
Fay Bainter (1892-1968) was an American actress who achieved success on stage and in films, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1938 film "Jezebel".
Fay Compton (1894-1978) was an English actress, popular on the stage and in films during the early 20th century. She was known for her performances in plays by George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde.
In the world of sports, Fay Vincent (born 1938) was the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball, serving from 1989 to 1992. He oversaw significant changes and controversies during his tenure, including the expansion of the league and the Pete Rose gambling scandal.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Fay throughout history, reflecting its enduring appeal and connection to themes of enchantment and whimsy.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Fay
People
Fay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fay 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
Fay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,821 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fay 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 38,857 US residents.
Is Fay a common name?
We classify Fay as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36,137 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fay most popular?
The single biggest year for Fay was 1915, when 842 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fay is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 13,766 people with the name Fay, or 4.56 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,995 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 Fay 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 Fay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fay leans strongly female. 13,102 people counted with this name were female (95.1%), compared with 673 male bearers (4.9%). 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 Fay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fay is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Fay most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.6% (9,860 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 Fay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fay a female name?
Yes, 88.6% of people registered as Fay 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 Fay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fay 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 Fay 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 common is the name Fay?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.