My grandmother's name was Kay. She was born in the late 1930s at the height of this name's popularity. I like the name cause it reminds me of her, but if she wasn't my relative, I don't think I'd spend very long thinking about this name. As others have said, it's very short and simple... almost too simple. Nowadays, Kayla or Kayleigh are pretty popular, so this name is associated moreso with those names than Katherine, where it came from originally. Trends show that more complicated, multi-syllable names are growing in popularity, whereas names like "Anne", "Jill", "Jane", "Mae" were the style 100+ years ago. This name isn't outrageously strange, but your kid will definitely stand out with such a staccato name.
Katherine Lahusen (also known as Kay Tobin; 1930 – 2021) was an American photographer, writer and gay rights activist. She was the first openly lesbian American photojournalist. Under Lahusen's art direction, photographs of lesbians appeared on the cover of The Ladder for the first time. It was one of many projects she undertook with partner Barbara Gittings, who was then The Ladder's editor. As an activist, Lahusen was involved with the founding of the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) in 1970 and the removal of homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). She contributed writing and photographs to a New York–based Gay Newsweekly, and co-authored two books: The Gay Crusaders in 1972 with Randy Wicker (under her pen name Kay Tobin) and Love and Resistance: Out of the Closet into the Stonewall Era, collecting their photographs with Diana Davies in 2019.
Kay Tse On-Kay (Chinese: 謝安琪) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer. She is a prominent figure in Hong Kong music and popular culture and was once frequently referred to in the media as a "grass-roots diva" and "goddess". She is known for songs which deal with social issues and the struggle for democracy in Hong Kong.
Kay is a succinct and totally welcome change in a world full of oversweet, sentimental names.I also adore Jane and Jill.You lucky girls with these concise and unafraid names!
― Anonymous User 5/15/2022
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Too simple for a legal name. It's also a short form of "Okay".
I can think of a movie named "Oh Kay!" starring it's main protagonist, Kay, as she just says Okay to everything everyone says, then everyone says "Oh Kay!" because they're fed up with Kay just saying okay all the time. At the end of the movie, the universe Kay resides in begins to fall apart, because the amount of times Kay said okay was so large it breaks the laws of physics. She finally gets the motivation to say something other than "okay" when the universe finally falls apart and she is left to float in nothingness forever, she says "okay".
Kay Faraday, a character in the Ace Attorney series. She is Miles's assistant.
― Anonymous User 5/9/2019
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A well-known bearer of this name is the writer & psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison. Check out her book "An Unquiet Mind" if you want some good reading.
Deborah Kay "Debi" Pearl (née Smith), better known as Debi Pearl was an extremely controversial book and magazine author who has written the following works: "To Train Up a Child" (1994) (co-written with her husband, Michael Pearl), "No Greater Joy" magazine (co-written with her husband, Michael Pearl) and "Created to Be His Help Meet" (2004). She and her husband were known to encourage the treatment of women as a subservient species (particularly, in "Created to Be His Help Meet" which solely focuses on a woman's/wife's "role" in marriage and subservience towards her husband) and child abuse, which they referred to as "training" (this in particular, is the sole focus of "To Train Up a Child").
A filler name or nickname. Too short as a stand-alone name, in my opinion. Pretty boring as a first name. Well, it's okay. Lol.What happened in 1929 to spike the popularity?
I like Kay. I much prefer it to Katherine. As many Medieval forms it is simpler and neat. I would pronounce it like KIE so people would not assume that it is just the letter K.
My middle name is Kay and my grandmother also has it for her middle name. I hate when I tell people my middle name is Kay and they say "Wait, so it starts with a K?" or "K as in the letter?".
Very short, simple, straight forward name. Makes for a decent middle name. It's my middle name and to be quite frank, I've never cared for it. To me, it's rather boring and plain. I feel bad because it's also my mom's middle name and I see that there are a lot of people who have it and like it... So long as you like and are happy with it, no one else's opinion matters. As for my mom, maybe if I start spelling it with an "e" as in "Kaye" I can reconcile my feelings about it a little. Still sounds the same, but I think it looks a tad better. (Not unlike the "e" in "Anne" from Anne of Green Gables I guess).
I think this name sounds like a name someone would use in the past and not the modern days. I still think it sounds cute for a dog but not as good for a person. Also, I think this name is feminine and not masculine. Who would have the thought to make it masculine?
My name is Kay. When I was young I wanted a fancier name. Now I love my name. It is simple, straightforward, feminine, and just a bit sweet. Additionally there is not a nickname for it. As an adult this is an advantage as I am not called something childish and little girly as so many women are.
Kay Hanley, a singer. She sings "Follow Me" which is the theme of Team Rose in Sonic Heroes. She has also sung the main theme song for My Friends Tigger & Pooh.
― Anonymous User 6/29/2015
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Can be a bit of a filler, and would often be assumed as just the initial, rather than the actual name.
I love the way this name looks: Kay. It just looks cheerful written out. It is sweet and spunky, yet old-fashioned. I think it is nice as a nickname or a given name.
― Anonymous User 6/13/2011
5
A famous Kay was American actress Kay Francis (1905-1968), who was one of the most popular actresses during the earlier Thirties and appeared in films like "Trouble in Paradise".
My middle name is Kay. It was my mother's middle name, and I've never really liked it. It's a bit too plain for my tastes, but, I'm stuck with it. When I tell someone my middle name, they always think it's an initial and I don't really have a middle name. That's why I don't like it.
Mary Kay Bergman provided the voices for most of the female characters in the first 3 seasons of South Park and for the movie too. She commited suicide.
― Anonymous User 5/24/2007
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Kay is a common nickname, usually for Kaylie, Kayatonmy, and Kayla.
I like the name Kay. I think it's pretty and simple. It's also my sister's middle name, and her first name is Laura. My parents call her Laura Kay a lot. Also it can be a nickname for any name that starts with Kay. (ex. Kayleigh)
Kay Adams was a character in the novel and film The Godfather. Another 'Kay' was Kay Pierce, the little girl in 'Mildred Pierce.'
― Anonymous User 4/29/2006
3
Common middle name.
― Anonymous User 3/11/2006
3
This name has been in my family for three generations. I still think it's a pretty with an impression of someone who's kind-hearted, even if it is a simple one-syllable name.
― Anonymous User 7/14/2005
4
A famous bearer of this name was Kay Thompson, an actress (she was in Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn). She was also the author of the famous "Eloise" books.