Gay
A masculine name of Old French origin meaning "joyful" or "carefree".
Name Census estimates that about 10,004 living Americans carry the first name Gay. It is a predominantly female name (92.9% of registrations). The average person named Gay today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gay births was 1959 (692 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gay. 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 Gay is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Gays were born before 1965.
People living today
10K
~ 1 in 34,262 Americans
Peak year
1959
692 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1974 SSA rank
#4,850
Tracked since 1883
Gender
Gender distribution for Gay
Gay leans heavily female at 92.9% of total registrations, but 1,382 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Gay as a male name
- Ranked #4,850 in 1974
- 6 male births in 1974
- Peak: 1941 (42 births)
Gay as a female name
- Ranked #9,597 in 1982
- 6 female births in 1982
- Peak: 1959 (682 births)
Popularity
Gay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gay from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 5,859 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gay 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 Gay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Gay, while Vermont, Nevada, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 323 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gay
The given name Gay originated from the Old French word "gai," which means "joyful" or "cheerful." This name can be traced back to the late 12th century and was commonly used in France during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gay appears in the 13th-century French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland," where it was used as a surname for a character named Guenes. The name gained popularity in Europe during the Renaissance period and was often associated with a jovial and lively personality.
In the 16th century, the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare used the name Gay in his works, such as in the play "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," where one of the characters is named Sir Eglamour. This helped to further popularize the name in English-speaking regions.
Notable individuals who bore the name Gay throughout history include:
1. John Gay (1685-1732), an English poet and dramatist best known for his work "The Beggar's Opera."
2. Gay Talese (born 1932), an American writer and journalist renowned for his pioneering work in the New Journalism movement.
3. Gay Byrne (1934-2019), an Irish broadcaster and television presenter who hosted "The Late Late Show" for over 35 years.
4. Gay Hendricks (born 1938), an American writer and psychologist known for his work on personal growth and relationships.
5. Gay Wilkinson (born 1938), an American fashion designer and entrepreneur who co-founded the clothing brand Williwear.
While the name Gay was once associated with joyfulness and merriment, its usage as a first name has declined in recent times due to the modern connotation of the word "gay" referring to homosexuality. However, its historical roots and significance remain an interesting part of onomastic studies and cultural heritage.
People
Gay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,004 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gay 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 34,262 US residents.
Is Gay a common name?
We classify Gay as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19,367 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gay most popular?
The single biggest year for Gay was 1959, when 692 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gay is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gay a female name?
Yes, 92.9% of people registered as Gay 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.
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.