Fay

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Fay: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Fay: Recorded since 1952, with a gap of 33 years, its highest recorded position is #97, and it stood at #3,695 in 2024.

4registrars recorded it
47times a registrar ranked it
73years from first to last
#97highest recorded position
15groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Fay's record

Absent from every published list for 33 years inside its own recorded period, then ranked again. Names by longest absence

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#368
1997	#409
1998	#462
1999	#440
2000	#411
2001	#385
2002	#469
2003	#475
2004	#533
2005	#596
2006	#696
2007	#793
2008	#957
2009	#806
2010	#1180
2011	#1149
2012	#1297
2013	#1774
2014	#2862
2015	#1549
2016	#1834
2017	#2090
2018	#3985
2019	#2643
2020	#2843
2021	#2341
2022	#2325
2023	#4056
2024	#3695

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 15 of the 30 years from 1986 to 2015.

In 2015: #581 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #1549 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1952–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1986
First recorded at #422 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1986 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3695 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Fay appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Girls, with 29 ranked years and 1,079 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Girls, from 1986.

Fay across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Fay's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#422 (1986)	#398 (2005)	#581 (2015)	15 of 30	61 (1986–2015)	8 (2005)
England and Wales · Girls	#368 (1996)	#368 (1996)	#3695 (2024)	29 of 29	1,079 (1996–2024)	91 (1996)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#316 (2004)	#316 (2004)	#384 (2006)	2 of 3	7 (2004–2006)	4 (2004)

Fay by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Fay in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	299	4 of 10	75
2000sbusiest	571	10 of 10	57
2010s	168	10 of 10	17
2020s	41	5 of 10	8

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 57 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Fay appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1952 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #97 in New South Wales, Australia in 1952.

Fay's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#3695	6	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#4056	5	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#2325	11	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#2341	11	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#2843	8	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#2643	9	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#3985	5	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#2090	13	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#1834	16	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#1549	20	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#2862	8	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#1774	16	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#1297	25	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#1149	29	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#1180	27	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#806	43	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#957	33	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#793	41	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#696	45	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#596	54	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#533	60	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#475	69	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#469	66	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#385	83	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#411	77	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#440	68	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#462	63	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#409	77	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#368	91	High	Verified
1952	New South Wales, Australia	female	#97	67	Insufficient	Not yet available
2006	Northern Ireland	female	#384	3	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#316	4	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#581	6	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#876	3	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#660	5	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#907	3	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#663	5	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#893	3	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#862	3	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#398	8	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#528	3	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#425	4	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#576	3	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#534	3	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#448	4	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#515	3	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#422	5	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New South Wales, Australia hub — collected by NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1952 and 2024, ranked in 33 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #97, first reached in 1952.

It held a top-100 place in 1 year.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 91 births, registered in England and Wales in 1996.

Its record falls into 5 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 33 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1986, and 52 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Fawaz · #518, 28y
Fawn · #2701, 14y
Faya · #418, 7y
Faye · #43, 49y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Autumn · #96, 30y
Kaiden · #99, 29y
Lilah · #95, 28y
Indi · #100, 28y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Ingvill · #97, 59y
Maxine · #97, 43y
Darrell · #96, 53y
Dawn · #95, 64y

Fay was ranked #97 in New South Wales, Australia · Girls in 1952. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Fay and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Fay without appearing here.

Fay moved ahead of

Kirsten Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4056 and #4056 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3695 and #5891.
Shauna Compare
In 2018 they stood at #3985 and #3178 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #2643 and #4001.
Tyler Compare
In 2018 they stood at #3985 and #3518 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #2643 and #4001.
Katrina Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4056 and #2504 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3695 and #4192.

Moved ahead of Fay

Fiadh Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2090 and #2502 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #3985 and #1436.
Bernadette Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2090 and #2341 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #3985 and #1649.
Francis Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2325 and #2488 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #4056 and #1863.
Wendy Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2090 and #2341 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #3985 and #1887.

Moved the opposite way to Fay

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Fay went from #368 to #3695 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Fay went from #368 to #3695 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Fay went from #368 to #3695 while Alyssa went from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Fay went from #368 to #3695 while Amalie went from #2096 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Fay

Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Fay went from #368 to #3695 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Fay went from #368 to #3695 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Fay went from #368 to #3695 and Aisling from #440 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Fay went from #368 to #3695 and Alex from #161 to #2253.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1952 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #97 in New South Wales, Australia in 1952. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Fay

Fay at a glance

What stands out in Fay's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Fay across 3 official records

Fay by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Fay appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Fay

Fay and the names beside it

Fay moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Fay

Moved the opposite way to Fay

Moved the same way as Fay

Fay at a glance

What stands out in Fay's record

Fay across 3 official records

Fay by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Fay appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Fay

Fay and the names beside it

Fay moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Fay

Moved the opposite way to Fay

Moved the same way as Fay