The name Kay is found both as a surname (see

Kay (surname) Kay is an English surname. It derives from the Old Breton and Welsh ''cai'' and the Cornish ''key'' meaning "wharf", or from the Old English ''coeg'' meaning "key". The surname is also a diminutive of MacKay and McKay. Notable people with thi ...

) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own right, and also as a masculine name (for example in India, the Netherlands, and Sweden). The alternative spelling of Kaye is encountered as a surname, but also occasionally as a given name: for instance, actress

Kaye Ballard Kaye Ballard (November 20, 1925 – January 21, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. Early life Ballard was born Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four children born to Italian immigrant parents, Lena (née Nac ...

Name

Female

Kay Armen Armenuhi Manoogian ( hy, Արմենուհի Մանուկեան); November 2, 1915 – October 3, 2011), better known by her stage name Kay Armen, was an American Armenian singer popular during the 1940s and 1950s. Her career in show business spann ...

(1915–2011), stage name of Armenuhi Manoogian, American Armenian singer *

Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republi ...

(born 1943), American lawyer, politician, and diplomat *

Kay (singer) Goldie Boutilier (born Kristin Kathleen Boutilier, July 31, 1988), known previously by her stage names My Name Is Kay, Kay, and Goldilox, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, model and DJ. Born and raised in Reserve Mines, Nova Scotia, Boutilier m ...

(born 1985), Canadian singer-songwriter *

Kay Burley Kay Burley (born Kay McGurrin; 17 December 1960) is a British broadcaster and writer. She is a presenter on Sky News and hosts ''Kay Burley'', the breakfast slot on the channel. She also worked for BBC Local Radio, Tyne Tees Television, and TV- ...

(born 1960), Sky News founder and presenter *

Kay Copland Kay Copland is a Scottish sport shooter. Copland competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games winning a gold medal in the 50m prone pairs event and a bronze medal in the 50m three positions pairs event, both alongside Jennifer McIntosh Jennif ...

, Scottish sport shooter *

Kay Elson Kay Selma Elson (born 25 January 1947), Australian politician, was a Liberal Member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until her retirement in November 2007. Kay represented the Division of Forde, Queensland.Kay Francis Kay Francis (born Katharine Edwina Gibbs; January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 an ...

(1905–1968), American actress *

Kay Hagan Janet Kay Hagan (née Ruthven; May 26, 1953 – October 28, 2019) was an American lawyer, banking executive, and politician who served as a United States Senator from North Carolina from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she previo ...

(1953–2019), American politician *

Kay Hull Kay Elizabeth Hull (born 3 February 1954) is a former Australian politician who served as a National Party member of the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2010, representing the Division of Riverina in New South Wales. Hull was born in Gu ...

(born 1954), Australian politician *

Kay Kendall Kay Kendall (21 May 1927 – 6 September 1959) was an English actress and comedienne. She began her film career in the musical film '' London Town'' (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly until her appearance in the comedy film ...

(1927–1959), British actress and comedian *

Kay Kinsman Katherine Nixon Bell (June 27, 1909 – 1998), known as Kay Kinsman, was an artist, writer and student of history and languages. She is noted for her works created with watercolour or in pen and ink depicting street views and everyday life. As an a ...

(1909–1998), Canadian artist and writer *

Kay Lahusen Katherine Lahusen (also known as Kay Tobin; January 5, 1930 – May 26, 2021) was an American photographer, writer and gay rights activist. She was the first openly lesbian American photojournalist.Riordan, Kevin (Fall 2001). "Together they spar ...

(1930–2021), American photographer, writer and gay rights activist *

Kay Matheson Kay Matheson (7 December 1928 – 6 July 2013) was a Scottish teacher, political activist, and Gaelic scholar. She was one of the four University of Glasgow students involved in the 1950 removal of the Stone of Scone. Life Matheson was born ...

(1928-2013), teacher, Gaelic scholar, one of four students involved in the

1950 removal of the Stone of Scone On Christmas Day 1950, four Scottish students from the University of Glasgow ( Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart) stole the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey in London and took it back to Scotland. The students were m ...

. *

Kay Mazzo Kay Mazzo (born January 17, 1946) is an American former ballet dancer and educator. In 1961, she joined Jerome Robbins' company, Ballets USA. The following year, she joined the New York City Ballet, and was promoted to principal dancer in 1969. S ...

(born 1946), American ballet dancer and educator *

Kay A. Orr Kay Avonne Orr (née Stark; January 2, 1939) is an American politician who served as the 36th governor of Nebraska from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, she was the state's first and to date only female governor. Early life and ed ...

(1939), 36th governor of Nebraska, US * Kay Toinette

K. T. Oslin Kay Toinette Oslin (May 15, 1942 – December 21, 2020) was an American country music singer-songwriter. She had several years of major commercial success in the late 1980s after signing a record deal at age 45. Oslin had four number one hits and ...

(1942–2020), American country music singer-songwriter *

Kay Panabaker Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990) is an American zoologist and retired actress. She is best known for her roles as Jenny Garison in the 2009 reboot of '' Fame'', Debbie Berwick on ''Phil of the Future'', and Nikki Westerly on '' Summerla ...

(born 1990), American actress *

Kay Parker Kay Taylor Parker (28 August 1944 – 14 October 2022) was a British pornographic film actress who later worked as a metaphysical counselor and mentor. She was the author of an autobiography ''Taboo: Sacred, Don't Touch'' which chronicles her ...

(born 1944), English pornographic actress *

Kay Purcell Kay Purcell (6 December 1963 – 23 December 2020) was an English actress. She was known for her roles as Cynthia Daggert in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2001–2002), Candice Smilie in the school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (20 ...

(1963–2020), English actress *

Kay Redfield Jamison Kay Redfield Jamison (born June 22, 1946) is an American clinical psychologist and writer. Her work has centered on bipolar disorder, which she has had since her early adulthood. She holds the post of the Dalio Professor in Mood Disorders and Ps ...

(born 1946), American psychologist and writer *

Kay Starr Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multip ...

(1922–2016), stage name of Katherine Starks, American pop and jazz singer *

Kay Tse Kay Tse On-kay (; born 13 March 1977) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer. She is a prominent figure in Hong Kong music and popular culture and was once frequently referred to in the media as a "grass-roots diva" and "goddess". She is known for song ...

(born 1977), Hong Kong Cantopop singer *

Kay Thompson Kay Thompson (born Catherine Louise Fink; November 9, 1909''"In the St. Louis Registry of Births, in the volume covering the period July 1909 – January 1910, on page 85, is the following entry: "Catherine Louise Fink, November 9, 1909."''

(1909–1998), American author

Male
*
Kay Bell Kay Dee Bell (October 14, 1914 – October 27, 1994) was an American football player who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears and New York Giants. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the tenth round ...
, American football player and professional wrestler *
Kay Christofferson Kay J. Christofferson is an American politician and a Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives representing District 53. Early life Christofferson was born in Lehi, Utah. Education Christofferson earned his degree in civil engi ...
, American politician *
Kay van Dijk Kay van Dijk (born 25 June 1984) is a Dutch volleyball player, a member of Netherlands men's national volleyball team in 2003-2013 and Persian club Peykan Tehran volleyball club, a participant of the Olympic Games Athens 2004, a silver medalist ...
, Dutch volleyball player *
Kay Kyser James Kern Kyser (June 18, 1905 – July 23, 1985), known as Kay Kyser, was an American bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s. Early years James Kern Kyser was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Emil ...
, American bandleader and radio personality *
Kay Pollak Kay Gunnar Leopold Pollak (born 21 May 1938) is a Swedish film director. Career After a long break from film-making, he returned in 2004 with ''As It Is in Heaven'' (''Så som i himmelen''), a major box office success in Sweden. The film was nomi ...
, Swedish film director *
Kay Stephenson George Kay Stephenson (born December 17, 1944) is an American former college and professional football player and retired coach, whose latter career has seen him work in four different professional leagues. Stephenson played quarterback for the ...
, American football player and coach *
Prince Kay One Kenneth Glöckler (born 7 September 1984) is a German rapper known as Kay One. He is also known as Prince Kay One. Life and career 1984–2006: Early life, Royal Bunker and German Dream Kay One was born in Friedrichshafen as second son ...
, German singer and rapper *
Kay Nielsen Kay Rasmus Nielsen (March 12, 1886 – June 21, 1957) was a Danish illustrator who was popular in the early 20th century, the Golden Age of Illustration which lasted from when Daniel Vierge and other pioneers developed printing technology to the ...
, Danish illustrator

Fictional characters
*
Agent K Agent K (usually called Kay), born Kevin Brown, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the ''Men in Black'' franchise (the other being Agent J). Kay is portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones in the three films, with Josh Brolin ...
, a character in the ''Men In Black'' film series and animated series *
Kay Adams-Corleone This is a list of characters from the film series ''The Godfather'' consisting of ''The Godfather'' (1972), ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974) and ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), based on Mario Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same name, as ...
, a character in Mario Puzo's novel ''The Godfather''. *
Sir Kay In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay ( cy, Cai, Middle Welsh ''Kei'' or ''Cei''; la, Caius; French: ''Keu''; Old French: ''Kès'' or ''Kex'') is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. ...
, character from Arthurian legend *
Kay Harker Kay Harker is a fictional character, the young hero of the books ''The Midnight Folk'' and ''The Box of Delights'' by John Masefield, and the BBC series of ''The Box of Delights''. The series ran in 1984, where the character was played by actor D ...
, character from the book ''The Box of Delights'' by John Masefield. *
Kay The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own ...
, a protagonist in the video game ''Legend of Kay''. * Kay, also spelled Kai, a character in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale ''
The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" ( da, Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'' (''Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samli ...
'' *
Kay The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own ...
, a character in the Vertigo comic series ''Fables''. * Kay Faraday, a character in ''Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth'' * Kay Engel, a character in ''Freier Fall (2013 film)''. * Kay, protagonist from the video game
Sea of Solitude ''Sea of Solitude'' is an adventure video game developed by Jo-Mei Games and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in July 2019. A director's cut version of the game was announced at The Gam ...

See also
* K, the eleventh letter in the Latin alphabet * Kai * Hurricane Kay (disambiguation) *
Kay (surname) Kay is an English surname. It derives from the Old Breton and Welsh ''cai'' and the Cornish ''key'' meaning "wharf", or from the Old English ''coeg'' meaning "key". The surname is also a diminutive of MacKay and McKay. Notable people with thi ...
*
Kay Musical Instrument Company Kay Musical Instrument Company (often referred to simply as Kay) was an American musical instrument manufacturer established in 1931 by namesake Henry "Kay" Kuhrmeyer and based in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed when Kuhrmeyer bought out his fina ...
, a US musical instrument manufacturer * Kaye (disambiguation) *
Kaya (disambiguation) Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) *Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department *Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in centr ...
*
Kaylee Kaylee (and its various spellings) is a given name, most often for females. The name is a modern English combination of the name elements Kay and Lee. It was a popular name in the United States in the latter part of the 20th century and the ear ...
{{Given name English feminine given names English masculine given names English unisex given names