Quay
An English name derived from French relating to wharves or docks.
Name Census estimates that about 262 living Americans carry the first name Quay. It is a predominantly male name (96.4% of registrations). The average person named Quay today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quay births was 1934 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quay. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
262
~ 1 in 1,308,223 Americans
Peak year
1934
15 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,623
Tracked since 1914
Census
Quay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 708 people with the first name Quay, which placed it at #16,051 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,051
National first-name rank
People counted
708
708 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
36.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quay is White at 36.4%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (20.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Quay described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Quay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White36.4% · 258
- Black or African American34.3% · 243
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.2% · 143
- Two or more races5.1% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Quay
Quay leans heavily male at 96.4% of total registrations, but 15 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Quay as a male name
- Ranked #10,623 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1971 (14 births)
Quay as a female name
- Ranked #11,649 in 1980
- 5 female births in 1980
- Peak: 1934 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Quay on both sides of the split. Of the 706 people counted with this name, 504 were male (71.4%) and 202 were female (28.6%).
Popularity
Quay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Quay from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 65 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1930s peak, Quay remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Quay by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Quay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Quay
The given name Quay has its origins in the French language and can be traced back to the 17th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "quai," which means a wharf or a landing place along a river or harbor. This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with people who lived or worked near bodies of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Quay can be found in the writings of French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes, who mentioned a person named Quay in his correspondence from the 1630s. However, it is uncertain whether this was a first name or a surname.
In the 18th century, the name Quay gained some popularity in France, particularly among families with ties to maritime activities or those residing in coastal regions. One notable figure from this period was Quay de Quincy (1694-1768), a French architect and theorist who made significant contributions to the development of Neoclassical architecture.
As the name spread beyond France, it gained recognition in other parts of Europe and eventually in the Americas. In the 19th century, Quay Maynard (1809-1888), an American businessman and entrepreneur, established the Maynard Rifle Company in Massachusetts, which played a vital role in the development of early repeating firearms.
Moving into the 20th century, Quay Walker (1901-1995), an American jazz drummer and bandleader, gained prominence in the swing era, performing with renowned musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson. His unique style and innovative approach to drumming left a lasting impact on the jazz scene.
Another notable figure with the name Quay was Quay Fortier (1928-2000), a Canadian painter and sculptor known for his abstract expressionist works. His vibrant and dynamic paintings were widely exhibited and celebrated in both Canada and the United States.
While the name Quay may not be as common as some other given names, it has left its mark on various fields throughout history, from architecture and business to music and art. Its unique origin and association with maritime environments have contributed to its distinctive character and appeal.
People
Quay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Q
Other first names starting with Q with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Quay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 262 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quay going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,308,223 US residents.
Is Quay a common name?
We classify Quay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 412 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Quay most popular?
The single biggest year for Quay was 1934, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quay is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Quay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 708 people with the name Quay, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,051 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Quay in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Quay?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Quay on both sides of the split. Of the 706 people counted with this name, 504 were male (71.4%) and 202 were female (28.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Quay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quay is White at 36.4%. The next largest groups are Black (34.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (20.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Quay most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Quay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 36.4% (258 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Quay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Quay a male name?
Yes, 96.4% of people registered as Quay in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Quay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Quay in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Quay can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Quay?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.