Names that end in y

As the French Esme becomes more popular, it will inevitably spawn spelling variations. This one, like Zoey or Layla, clarifies pronunciation, so while we prefer the original, that's not a bad thing.

A small number of girls are given this Irish surname as a first name each year.

Baby is rarely seen as a given name — or even nickname — these days, although it did rank in the Top 1000 from 1989 to 2003. These instances can be accounted for in two ways. Firstly, infants whose birth certificates are not filled out on time are given generic placeholders for registration, such as Infant, Unknown, or Baby. But more influential during this decade was the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing, starring Jennifer Grey as Frances "Baby" Houseman. It's the origin of the famed line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Tay is occasionally used on its own, or as a nickname for the now fading Taylor.

Makes Donna into a cool twenty-first-century unisex Irish surname.

In an earlier time Shirley was used primarily for boys, but the tide turned with the publication of Charlotte Bronte's novel Shirley in 1849, the story of a character whose parents had selected the name for a boy child, then decided to use it anyway when he turned out to be a she.

Likable Irish surname name, but bound to be confused with Clooney.

The exact origins of Seavey are clouded — it may be a habitational surname used for people who lived near the River Severn in England or it could have derived from an Old English personal name such as Saewig.

Anglicized form of Irish Ó Cearmada, which is reminiscent of other jaunty Irish surnames like Cassidy and Connolly.