How popular is the baby name Shae in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Shae.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Shae


Posts that Mention the Name Shae

Inconspicuous anagram baby names: Blake/Kaleb, Hale/Leah

letters

I recently updated my old anagram baby names post to make it much more comprehensive. As I worked on it, though, I noticed that many of those sets of names had obvious similarities, such as the same first letters and/or the same rhythm.

So I thought I’d make a second, shorter list of anagram names that were less conspicuously similar. Specifically, I wanted the second list to feature sets of names with different first letters and different numbers of syllables.

And that’s what you’ll find below — pairs of anagram names that are relatively distinct from one another. So much so that, at first glance (or listen), some might not even strike you as being anagrammatic at all. :)

Click on any name to check out its popularity graph…

Most of the names above have a clear number of syllables, but a few do not. (I categorized them according to my own interpretation/accent.) So, if you’re interested in using any of these pairings, just remember to test the names out loud first!

Which of the pairs above do you like best?

Shea, Shae, Shay: Girl names or boy names?

pink & blue booties

This question has been bringing a lot of traffic to my blog lately, so I thought I’d post about it and see what everyone thinks.

Most of us know of Shea as a surname and/or a stadium name. Shea doesn’t currently rank in the top 1,000 for either boys or girls, but the name and its various spellings do appear further down on the SSA’s list:

Shea247 girls155 boys
Shae114 girls25 boys
Shay107 girls82 boys
Shaye39 girls20 boys
Shai*34 girls44 boys
Totals:541 (62%)326 (38%)

Most versions are used more often for girls than for boys.

What do you think — is Shea a boy name or a girl name? How about other versions of the name? (Does spelling matter?)

*Commenter Panya correctly notes that Shai also happens to be an unrelated Hebrew name. It’s impossible to know which Shais are which, though, so I just counted them all as versions of Shea above.

Naming a baby boy Shay: Yea or nay?

A reader named Kelly e-mailed me this afternoon about the name Shay for her son. Kelly asked if I knew any girls or boys named Shay, and if I thought the name was “girly.” I’ve already sent her a reply, but my answers were basically:

1. Yes, I’ve met babies/kids of both genders named Shay/Shea/Shae. And the stats tell a similar story–if you look at the top 1,000 baby names in the U.S. over the last 50 years,

  • Shay ranked 15 times for boys and 3 times for girls,
  • Shea ranked 35 times for boys and 31 times for girls, and
  • Shae ranked 0 times for boys and 1 time for girls.

2. Shay doesn’t sound girly to me, but it doesn’t sound masculine either. More like androgynous. (I’d say the same about Peyton, Avery, Dakota, Riley, Jordan, and about a dozen other names.)

What’s your take on Shay: Girl name? Boy name? (Does the spelling make a difference?) Is Shay too girly for a boy?

Related post: Shea, Shae, Shay – Girl Names or Boy Names?

One-syllable girl names: Kate, Sage, Wren, Maeve

List of 1-syllable girl names

Looking for a girl name that’s short and to-the-point? Something that might work particularly well as a middle name?

Check out this list of several hundred one-syllable girl names. (And click on any name to see its popularity graph!)

Please note that I did include names in the gray area between one syllable and two syllables. The deciding factor on these particular names will be your own interpretation/accent, so be sure to test the names out loud before making any final decisions. (“Hayle,” for instance — would you say it like Hale, or like Hailey? Or “Rise” — is it rize, or ree-sah?)

Many of these names also happen to be unisex, so they appear on the One-Syllable Boy Names list as well.

What’s your favorite one-syllable girl name?

[Latest Update: June 2021]