Meaning
We don’t have a verified meaning for Gay.
We only publish meanings we can cite to a source you could check yourself. Most sites will give you one anyway; the ones you find elsewhere are often copied between sites without verification.
Its story
Popularity since 1886
Hover over or drag across the chart to see any year.
See the 95 recorded years as a table
| Year | Per million |
|---|---|
| 1886 | 35 |
| 1887 | 69 |
| 1888 | 78 |
| 1889 | 67 |
| 1890 | 84 |
| 1891 | 65 |
| 1892 | 85 |
| 1893 | 80 |
| 1894 | 76 |
| 1895 | 43 |
| 1896 | 67 |
| 1897 | 56 |
| 1898 | 58 |
| 1899 | 112 |
| 1900 | 60 |
| 1901 | 54 |
| 1902 | 64 |
| 1903 | 69 |
| 1904 | 58 |
| 1905 | 51 |
| 1906 | 51 |
| 1907 | 78 |
| 1908 | 60 |
| 1909 | 75 |
| 1910 | 66 |
| 1911 | 55 |
| 1912 | 47 |
| 1913 | 54 |
| 1914 | 55 |
| 1915 | 60 |
| 1916 | 65 |
| 1917 | 68 |
| 1918 | 55 |
| 1919 | 59 |
| 1920 | 48 |
| 1921 | 45 |
| 1922 | 46 |
| 1923 | 57 |
| 1924 | 47 |
| 1925 | 67 |
| 1926 | 67 |
| 1927 | 69 |
| 1928 | 79 |
| 1929 | 102 |
| 1930 | 138 |
| 1931 | 156 |
| 1932 | 203 |
| 1933 | 225 |
| 1934 | 226 |
| 1935 | 254 |
| 1936 | 307 |
| 1937 | 320 |
| 1938 | 293 |
| 1939 | 308 |
| 1940 | 269 |
| 1941 | 304 |
| 1942 | 287 |
| 1943 | 349 |
| 1944 | 299 |
| 1945 | 302 |
| 1946 | 309 |
| 1947 | 306 |
| 1948 | 278 |
| 1949 | 285 |
| 1950 | 281 |
| 1951 | 300 |
| 1952 | 347 |
| 1953 | 308 |
| 1954 | 325 |
| 1955 | 254 |
| 1956 | 263 |
| 1957 | 286 |
| 1958 | 243 |
| 1959 | 337 |
| 1960 | 310 |
| 1961 | 295 |
| 1962 | 226 |
| 1963 | 198 |
| 1964 | 185 |
| 1965 | 171 |
| 1966 | 139 |
| 1967 | 108 |
| 1968 | 103 |
| 1969 | 75 |
| 1970 | 70 |
| 1971 | 47 |
| 1972 | 39 |
| 1973 | 15 |
| 1974 | 20 |
| 1975 | 21 |
| 1976 | 11 |
| 1977 | 8 |
| 1978 | 5 |
| 1979 | 6 |
| 1982 | 4 |
Where it’s loved
Most popular in these states
Gay isn’t concentrated in any one state. Either it’s spread evenly, or no state reaches the 25 births over three years needed before a rate means anything.
More like it
More like Gay
The numbers
Every figure
- Births in 1982
- 6
- Rank in 1982
- #9,237
- How rare
- 1 in 282,220 girls
- Since 1886
- 17,985
Gay was last recorded in 1982. Fewer than five girls have been given the name in any year since, which is the point below which the record stops reporting.
Most popular in 1943, at 349 per million girls born.
There isn’t enough data for a ten-year trend: Gay doesn’t appear in both ends of that window.
Figures from the US Social Security Administration’s 2025 release. How these numbers are made.