Fay Wray
There are approximately 1 people named Fay Wray living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Fay with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Wray. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Fay
8.8K
Alive today
Named Wray
17K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 8.8K
Rarity: Rare
Gender: Unisex
Peak year: 1915
Average age: 68
Top Census group: White (71.6%)
Estimated bearers: 17K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #2,347
Per 100K: 5.06
Top ancestry: White (78.7%)
First name trend
Fay: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Fay. The peak year was 1915 with 842 births. The average person named Fay today is 68 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fay
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Fay, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 71.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Fay described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Fay at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White71.6% · 9,860
- Black or African American15.8% · 2,179
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 986
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 341
- Two or more races2.3% · 311
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 89
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Wray surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Wray, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 78.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Wray described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Wray at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White78.7% · 11,914
- Black or African American12.5% · 1,896
- Two or more races4.6% · 695
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 444
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 99
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 91
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Fay has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0026% of the US population, based on 8,821 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Fay right now.
The surname Wray appears at a rate of 5.06 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0051%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Fay Wray. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Fay Wray: questions and answers
How many people are named Fay Wray?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Fay Wray. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0026%) with the surname frequency (5.06 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Fay Wray?
We classify Fay Wray as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Fay a male or female name?
Fay is predominantly unisex. Out of 36,137 total SSA registrations, 11.4% were male and 88.6% were female. See the full Fay profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many Americans are named Fay Wray?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.