How Many People Are Named Gaye?
An estimated 3,479 people in the United States have the first name Gaye. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 70 years old, and Gaye peaked in popularity in 1960 with 268 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Gaye 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 Gaye paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 70, Gaye is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1966.
Estimated Living Americans
3,479
About 1 in 98,521 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
70
years old
Peak Year
1960
268 births
Total Registered
5,747
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Gaye
Gaye is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 5,747 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Gaye as a female name
Ranked #6,816 in 1976
8 female births in 1976
Peak: 1960 (268 births)
Gaye: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Gaye span from the 1900s to the 1970s, covering 8 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 2,044 babies were registered. Gaye has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Gaye by Decade
How has Gaye 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.
Gaye by State
Birth registrations for Gaye span all 37 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, South Carolina, Oregon. On average, about 88 Gayes were registered per state.
Gaye + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Gaye as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Gaye
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
Gaye: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gaye?
We estimate approximately 3,479 people named Gaye 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 98,521 Americans share this first name.
Is Gaye a common name?
Gaye is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 95.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 5,747 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Gaye most popular?
Gaye reached peak popularity in 1960, when 268 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Gaye is approximately 70 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Gaye a female name?
Gaye is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Gaye Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Gaye Smith, Gaye Johnson, Gaye 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.
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