Shay

maleStatistical record

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

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

Shay: Recorded since 1972, it reached #39 in 2022, and it was still inside the top 100 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
128times a registrar ranked it
54years from first to last
#39highest recorded position
22groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Shay's record

Moved 166 places between two consecutive years — its largest recorded change. Names by largest single-year move

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1296
1997	#1543
1998	#1165
1999	#1107
2000	#1389
2001	#1439
2002	#1442
2003	#2191
2004	#1715
2005	#1690
2006	#1502
2007	#1443
2008	#2292
2009	#2535
2010	#2235
2011	#2275
2012	#2717
2013	#2649
2014	#1882
2015	#1865
2016	#1834
2017	#1371
2018	#3178
2019	#3541
2020	#1687
2021	#2711
2022	#1849
2023	#2689
2024	#2115

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 boys in Republic of Ireland in 39 of the 54 years from 1972 to 2025.

In 2024: #50 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #155 among boys in Scotland, #177 among boys in Northern Ireland, #389 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1972–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1972
First recorded at #279 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1972 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1972–2025
Highest recorded position: #39 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2022 (recorded 1972–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #52 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Shay appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 39 years beginning in 1972, and has registered 2,021 births with the name.

Shay across 4 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.

Shay'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 · Boys	#279 (1972)	#39 (2022)	#52 (2025)	39 of 54	2,021 (1972–2025)	152 (2022)
England and Wales · Boys	#489 (1996)	#156 (2006)	#389 (2024)	29 of 29	5,165 (1996–2024)	338 (2010)
England and Wales · Girls	#1296 (1996)	#1107 (1999)	#2115 (2024)	29 of 29	371 (1996–2024)	24 (2017)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#129 (1997)	#93 (2009)	#177 (2024)	28 of 28	532 (1997–2024)	34 (2009)

Shay by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

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 Shay in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1970s	11	3 of 10	4
1980s	12	4 of 10	3
1990s	40	6 of 10	7
2000s	332	10 of 10	33
2010s	914	10 of 10	91
2020sbusiest	712	6 of 10	119

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 119 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2022 and 2023, when recorded births fell by 43, from 152 to 109.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Shay 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 1972 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #39 in Republic of Ireland in 2022.

Shay'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	#2115	13	High	Verified
2024	England and Wales	male	#389	106	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#2689	9	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#415	95	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#1849	15	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#399	106	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#2711	9	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#393	110	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#1687	17	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#398	104	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#3541	6	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#426	97	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#3178	7	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#366	124	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#1371	24	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#302	166	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#1834	16	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#344	136	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#1865	15	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#262	195	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#1882	15	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#253	204	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#2649	9	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#247	202	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2717	9	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#197	282	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#2275	11	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#206	255	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#2235	11	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#164	338	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#2535	9	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#184	284	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#2292	10	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#183	264	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#1443	18	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#166	304	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#1502	16	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#156	316	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#1690	13	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#161	289	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#1715	12	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#180	228	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#2191	8	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#189	205	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1442	13	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#189	182	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1439	13	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#259	107	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1389	13	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#302	91	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1107	18	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#292	93	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#1165	17	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#213	147	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1543	11	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#281	98	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#1296	14	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#489	37	High	Verified
2024	Northern Ireland	male	#177	12	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	male	#200	10	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	male	#163	13	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	male	#166	14	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	male	#142	17	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	male	#169	14	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	male	#171	14	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	male	#140	19	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	male	#166	15	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#201	11	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	male	#135	21	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	male	#153	17	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#106	29	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	male	#111	26	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	male	#103	31	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	male	#93	34	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	male	#116	26	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#131	22	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	male	#110	25	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	male	#131	18	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	male	#103	26	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	male	#100	25	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	male	#96	25	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	male	#123	17	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	male	#136	13	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	male	#158	10	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	male	#144	13	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	male	#129	15	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	male	#52	101	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#50	107	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#53	109	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#905	3	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#39	152	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#52	126	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#53	117	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#63	103	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#65	98	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#84	86	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#78	88	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#78	98	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#83	97	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#76	104	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#103	69	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#106	72	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#78	99	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#97	78	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#119	63	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#134	47	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#132	42	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#158	29	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#171	22	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#187	16	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#185	17	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#209	12	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#274	6	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#266	6	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#203	10	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#209	12	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#295	5	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#299	4	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#323	3	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#303	3	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#304	3	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#318	3	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#321	3	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#293	4	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#321	3	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#279	4	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#790	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#155	29	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1972 and 2025, ranked in 39 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #39, first reached in 2022.

It held a top-100 place in 17 years, 13 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 338 births, registered in England and Wales in 2010.

1 registrar publishes it in more than one category list, holding a place in each for at least five years — an observation about those lists rather than about the name.

Its record falls into 9 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 3 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, 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.

Shawn · #290, 29y
Shawna · #689, 18y
Shaya · #1369, 27y
Shayaan · #598, 26y

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.

Beth · #40, 34y
Hollie · #41, 41y
Mollie · #37, 34y
Glenda · #43, 41y

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1970 and 1979.

Billy · #39, 45y
Tessa · #38, 42y
Jared · #41, 51y
Rebekah · #37, 45y

Shay was ranked #39 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 2022. 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.

Shay 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 Shay without appearing here.

Shay moved ahead of

Cheryl Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3541 and #2286 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #1687 and #5493.
Denise Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3541 and #2040 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #1687 and #4535.
Carmel Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3541 and #2643 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #1687 and #3899.
Levi Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3541 and #2286 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #1687 and #3899.

Moved ahead of Shay

Ezra Compare
In 2017 they stood at #1371 and #1411 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #3178 and #1234.
Fiadh Compare
In 2017 they stood at #1371 and #2502 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #3178 and #1436.
Meabh Compare
In 2020 they stood at #1687 and #3447 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #2711 and #1286.
Frida Compare
In 2007 they stood at #1443 and #1656 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2008 that had become #2292 and #1247.

Moved the opposite way to Shay

Adrian Compare
Between 1972 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Shay went from #279 to #52 while Adrian went from #50 to #348.
Alan Compare
Between 1972 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Shay went from #279 to #52 while Alan went from #11 to #232.
Andreas Compare
Between 1972 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Shay went from #279 to #52 while Andreas went from #279 to #829.
Andrew Compare
Between 1972 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Shay went from #279 to #52 while Andrew went from #38 to #106.

Moved the same way as Shay

Aaron Compare
Between 1972 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Shay went from #279 to #52 and Aaron from #194 to #71.
Adam Compare
Between 1972 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Shay went from #279 to #52 and Adam from #158 to #20.
Alexander Compare
Between 1972 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Shay went from #279 to #52 and Alexander from #143 to #55.
Arthur Compare
Between 1972 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Shay went from #279 to #52 and Arthur from #143 to #57.

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 1972 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #39 in Republic of Ireland in 2022. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Shay

Shay at a glance

What stands out in Shay's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Shay across 4 official records

Shay by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Shay appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Shay

Shay and the names beside it

Shay moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shay

Moved the opposite way to Shay

Moved the same way as Shay

Shay at a glance

What stands out in Shay's record

Shay across 4 official records

Shay by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Shay appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Shay

Shay and the names beside it

Shay moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shay

Moved the opposite way to Shay

Moved the same way as Shay