How Many People Are Named Fay?
An estimated 8,821 people in the United States have the first name Fay. It is used for both genders, with 88.6% female. The average bearer is 68 years old, and Fay peaked in popularity in 1915 with 842 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Fay as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Fay paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 68, Fay is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1968.
Estimated Living Americans
8,821
About 1 in 38,857 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
88.6% confidence
Average Age
68
years old
Peak Year
1915
842 births
Total Registered
36,137
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Fay
Fay is predominantly female (88.6%), though 4,118 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
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)
Fay: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Fay span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 7,425 babies were registered. Fay has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Fay by Decade
How has Fay tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 584 | 173 | 411 | |
| 1890s | 1,420 | 240 | 1,180 | |
| 1900s | 2,327 | 249 | 2,078 | |
| 1910s | 6,472 | 999 | 5,473 | |
| 1920s | 7,425 | 1,121 | 6,304 | |
| 1930s | 6,434 | 672 | 5,762 | |
| 1940s | 4,579 | 382 | 4,197 | |
| 1950s | 3,301 | 171 | 3,130 | |
| 1960s | 1,827 | 87 | 1,740 | |
| 1970s | 548 | 24 | 524 | |
| 1980s | 316 | 0 | 316 | |
| 1990s | 170 | 0 | 170 | |
| 2000s | 229 | 0 | 229 | |
| 2010s | 311 | 0 | 311 | |
| 2020s | 194 | 0 | 194 | |
Fay by State
Birth registrations for Fay span all 46 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, Texas. The lowest are in New Hampshire, Delaware, South Dakota. On average, about 559 Fays were registered per state.
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.
Names Similar to Fay
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
Fay: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fay?
We estimate approximately 8,821 people named Fay are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 38,857 Americans share this first name.
Is Fay a common name?
Fay is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 36,137 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Fay most popular?
Fay reached peak popularity in 1915, when 842 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Fay is approximately 68 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Fay a female name?
Fay is predominantly female. 88.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Fay Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Fay Smith, Fay Johnson, Fay Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me