Shay is an Irish name from the Gaelic Séaghdha, which means "admirable" or "hawk-like", and in the United States it also serves as a short form of Shayla or Shaylee; the Hebrew name Shai, meaning "gift", sounds the same. It is used for both sexes, with girls now the larger group. Shay entered the girls' top 1000 in 2020, peaked at number 903 in 2021, slipped out in 2023 and ranks 1227 in 2025.