Bay
- Gender
- Unisex
- Say it
- BAY
- Origin
- English
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,990 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #11,928 for girls
Bay is a name of English origin, meaning “coastal inlet; laurel tree”. In 2025 it ranked 5,990th for girls in the UK (3 babies) and 11,928th for girls in the US (7 babies).
What does Bay mean?
English: the English word
“coastal inlet; laurel tree”
Can mean a sheltered curve of coast or the bay laurel, whose leaves crowned victors in ancient Greece.
Is Bay a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Bay has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 3 girls and 5 boys in the UK and 7 girls in the US.
How popular is Bay in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 5,990th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 3 about 1 in 93,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 58% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 3 girls in the UK were named Bay, making it the 5,990th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,630th. Its busiest year was 2013, with 19 girls. 5 boys were also named Bay in 2025 (3,747th for boys).
Half of all the girls named Bay in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Girls were 80% of the babies named Bay in the UK in 2007, and 31% in 2022.
Among girls in 2025, it was 5,925th in England and Wales.
Bay in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,990 |
| 2024 | 5 | #4,253 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 4 | #4,870 |
| 2021 | 12 | #2,325 |
| 2020 | 6 | #3,630 |
| 2019 | 7 | #3,340 |
| 2018 | 6 | #3,702 |
| 2017 | 15 | #2,011 |
| 2016 | 18 | #1,781 |
| 2015 | 15 | #1,988 |
| 2014 | 18 | #1,722 |
| 2013 | 19 | #1,662 |
| 2012 | 11 | #2,463 |
| 2011 | 10 | #2,582 |
| 2010 | 8 | #2,992 |
| 2009 | 11 | #2,298 |
| 2008 | 12 | #2,156 |
| 2007 | 12 | #2,083 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 3 | #4,976 |
| 2004 | 6 | #2,957 |
| 2003 | 3 | #4,560 |
How popular is Bay in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 11,928th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 7 about 1 in 230,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 27% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 7 girls in the US were named Bay, making it the 11,928th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,401st. Its busiest year was 2014, with 75 girls. It first appears in the records in 1987.
2025 had fewer girls named Bay than any year since 2009.
Half of all the girls named Bay in the US since 1880 were born between 2012 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2016, 80% of the babies named Bay in the US were girls.
Bay in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | #11,928 |
| 2024 | 16 | #6,928 |
| 2023 | 9 | #10,307 |
| 2022 | 12 | #8,536 |
| 2021 | 9 | #10,287 |
| 2020 | 12 | #8,401 |
| 2019 | 15 | #7,338 |
| 2018 | 17 | #6,788 |
| 2017 | 22 | #5,657 |
| 2016 | 33 | #4,344 |
| 2015 | 58 | #2,964 |
| 2014 | 75 | #2,412 |
| 2013 | 70 | #2,533 |
| 2012 | 46 | #3,463 |
| 2011 | 10 | #10,370 |
| 2010 | 11 | #9,786 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 7 | #13,918 |
| 2006 | 13 | #8,711 |
| 2005 | 9 | #10,915 |
| 2004 | 6 | #14,172 |
| 2003 | 6 | #13,837 |
| 2002 | 5 | #15,426 |
| 2001 | 5 | #15,345 |
| 2000 | 11 | #8,527 |
| 1999 | 6 | #12,681 |
| 1998 | 10 | #8,579 |
| 1997 | 8 | #9,797 |
| 1996 | 5 | #13,511 |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 5 | #13,308 |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 5 | #11,320 |
Names like Bay
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Zainab, Ayra, Ayah, Hafsa, Summer, Aaliyah, Poppy, Noor, Raya, Ayla, Harper
Names related to Bay
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel, Carter
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Bay: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/bay, updated 20 October 2026.