Islay
From Scottish origin, an island of the Inner Hebrides.
Name Census estimates that about 351 living Americans carry the first name Islay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Islay today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Islay births was 2021 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Islay. 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 Islay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
351
~ 1 in 976,508 Americans
Peak year
2021
51 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,498
Tracked since 1999
Census
Islay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 215 people with the first name Islay, which placed it at #36,733 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
#36,733
National first-name rank
People counted
215
215 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Islay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Islay is White at 65.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.2%) and Two or More Races (9.3%). 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 Islay 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 Islay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.1% · 140
- Hispanic or Latino24.2% · 52
- Two or more races9.3% · 20
- Black or African American1.4% · 3
Popularity
Islay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Islay from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 188 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Islay 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 Islay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Islays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Washington, Indiana recorded the most babies named Islay, while Indiana, Washington, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Islay
The name Islay is derived from the Hebridean island of the same name, which is the southernmost of the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. The island's name is thought to originate from the Old Norse word "ìl" meaning "island" or "isle".
The name Islay has been recorded as a given name for both men and women since the early 19th century, reflecting the island's historical significance as a center of whisky production and cultural traditions. The earliest known record of the name Islay appears in the Scottish census of 1841, where it is listed as a feminine name.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Islay was Islay Campbell (1818-1904), a Scottish noblewoman and philanthropist who was actively involved in various charitable organizations and social causes during the Victorian era. Another early bearer of the name was Islay Ferrier (1857-1920), a Scottish feminist and social reformer who campaigned for women's rights and education.
In the 20th century, the name gained some popularity in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries. One notable figure was Islay Muir (1890-1970), a British author and academic who wrote extensively on literature and language. Another was Islay Napier (1918-2005), a Scottish artist and sculptor whose works were exhibited in various galleries across the United Kingdom.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Islay was Islay Macleod (1912-2000), a Scottish musician and folklorist who played a significant role in preserving and promoting traditional Scottish music and culture. She was widely recognized for her contributions and received numerous honors, including an MBE and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Scottish Trad Music Awards.
While the name Islay is relatively uncommon, it has gained some popularity in recent years, particularly among families with Scottish heritage or connections to the Isle of Islay. The name evokes a sense of cultural richness, tradition, and a connection to the natural beauty of the Scottish islands.
People
Islay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Islay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Islay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Islay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 351 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Islay 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 976,508 US residents.
Is Islay a common name?
We classify Islay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 354 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Islay most popular?
The single biggest year for Islay was 2021, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Islay is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Islay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 215 people with the name Islay, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,733 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 Islay 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 Islay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Islay leans strongly female. 186 people counted with this name were female (87.3%), compared with 27 male bearers (12.7%). 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 Islay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Islay is White at 65.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.2%) and Two or More Races (9.3%). 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 Islay most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Islay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.1% (140 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 Islay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Islay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Islay 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 Islay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Islay 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 Islay 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 the name Islay?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.