Gay

French
"joyful"

Gay Origin and Meaning

The name Gay is a girl's name of French origin meaning "joyful".

The meaning of this word flipped from "cheerful" to "homosexual" during the twentieth century, and it's now almost certainly too loaded to sit comfortably as a baby name. Which is a shame as sound-wise it's very appealing, just a short step away from Faye, May, and Rae.

# 944 in the US

Gay Rank in US Top 1000

Famous People Named Gay

  • Gay Hamilton
    Scottish actress
  • Gay Kayler
    Australian country music singer
  • Gay Seabrook (born Gladys Johnson)
    American actress
  • Gabriel "Gay" Woods
    Irish singer of band Steeleye Span
  • Gay Kristine Jacobsen D'Asaro
    American fencer
  • Gay Search
    English TV presenter
  • Gay McDougall
    American human rights activist
  • Mary Gabrielle "Gay" Thompson
    Australian politician
  • Gay Vernon
    American radio personality in Boston
  • Marcia Gay Harden
    American actress
  • Imogen Gay Poots
    English actress

Gay in Pop Culture

  • "Gay" Van Buren
    nickname for character Shay Van Buren of YouTube show "The Most Popular Girls in School"
  • Gay
    the main character in Zelda Fitzgerald's short story "The original follies girl"