Faye
Faye was the 515th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 579 babies. Its best year was 1934, when it ranked 146th; the most babies were born in 1943 (1,468). Over the last ten years it has moved up 415 places. More babies were named Faye in the 1940s than in any other decade.
Meaning fairy; also short for Faith · English, French
Say it FAY /feɪ/
- Rank in 2025
- #515 girls, up 173 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 579girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19431,468 babies
- Total since 1880
- 72,660babies recorded
What does the name Faye mean?
Faye is a variant spelling of Fay. As an English word, fay means a fairy, from Middle English faie and Old French fae, from Medieval Latin fada. The same idea appears in Arthurian legend, where the enchantress Morgan le Fay is "Morgan the fairy." Fay has also been explained as a short form of Faith, a virtue name DMNES dates in England to the 1560s. Separately, Fay is an Anglo-Irish surname from the Norman de Fae family.
fae (Old French, “fairy”)fāda (Medieval Latin, “fairy”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. The sources do not settle whether the first name came mainly from 'fay' (fairy), from Faith, or from the surname Fay; all three are proposed.
Related names: Fay, Fae, Faith.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Faye' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Fay' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'fay' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., entry 'fay' (etymology), HarperCollins / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Faith', DMNES (Durham University)
Faye popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 518 since 1901.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #515 | 579 |
| 2020 | #688 | 414 |
| 2010 | #1,415 | 162 |
| 2000 | #2,003 | 83 |
| 1990 | #1,898 | 74 |
| 1980 | #1,126 | 121 |
| 1970 | #730 | 204 |
| 1960 | #337 | 782 |
| 1950 | #211 | 1,271 |
| 1940 | #153 | 1,391 |
| 1930 | #177 | 1,099 |
| 1920 | #208 | 935 |
| 1910 | #208 | 312 |
| 1900 | #229 | 194 |
| 1890 | #329 | 59 |
| 1880 | #647 | 8 |
How popular is Faye, counting every spelling?
Faye is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #498 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #515 for Faye on its own. Together these spellings went to 618 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faye | 579 | #515 | 2,787 |
| Fay | 39 | #3,795 | 200 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Faye?
579 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Faye (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Faye born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Faye.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Faye?
About 32,700 people born in the US named Faye are alive today, with a median age of 70; half are between 41 and 79. That makes Faye a name most people associate with older generations. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Faye by state
How common Faye was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (3.1×), Oregon (2.6×), Kansas (2.4×), Idaho (2.3×), Massachusetts (2.2×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Alabama, Nevada, Arkansas.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Faye: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Faye, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Faye · Sibling names for Faye
Questions about the name Faye
What does Faye mean?
Faye is usually explained as “fairy; also short for Faith”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Faye?
Faye was the 515th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 579 babies. Its best year was 1934, when it ranked 146th; the most babies were born in 1943 (1,468). Over the last ten years it has moved up 415 places. More babies were named Faye in the 1940s than in any other decade.
Is Faye a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Faye in the US.
Where is Faye most popular?
In 2021–2025, Faye was most common in Montana (1.18 per 1,000 girls), followed by Utah and New Hampshire.