Unisex name
Shay
5,613 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 2010. Expression number: 8.
Origin
Variant of Shea, from Irish Ó Séaghdha.From Wiktionary, entry “Shay”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Do you know someone named Shay?
Send them the page about their name.
How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 2010: 349 births. 5,613 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. It is given to girls (7%) as well as boys (93%). It is still given: 540 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 2021: 409 births. 13,251 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given steadily, decade after decade, from the 1970s to the 2020s. It is given to girls (62%) as well as boys (38%). It really came into use around 1957. It is still given: 1,724 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 2022: 155 births. 2,024 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 2010s and 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 39th among boys' names in 2022. It really came into use around 2004. It is still given: 598 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
8
power, achievement, your relationship with money
1 + 8 + 1 + 7 = 17 → 8
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
1
initiative, independence, beginnings
1 = 1
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
7
reflection, inner life, seeking
1 + 8 + 7 = 16 → 7
- Digits missing from the name
- 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9
- Most frequent digit
- 1 · initiative, independence, beginnings
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.