Browse Names - Behind the Name

Aiday f Kazakh
Means "moon-like" in Kazakh, from ай (ay) meaning "moon" and the suffix дай (day) meaning "like".

Belinay f Turkish (Modern)
Means "reflection of the moon on a lake" in Turkish.

Calfuray f Mapuche (Hispanicized)
Means "violet flower" in Mapuche, from kallfü "purple, blue" and rayen "flower".

Dalisay f Tagalog
Means "pure" in Tagalog.

Dilay f Turkish
Derived from Persian دل (del) meaning "heart" and Turkish ay meaning "moon".

Elay f Azerbaijani
From Azerbaijani el meaning "country, society" and ay meaning "moon".

Fay f & m English
In part from the English word fay meaning "fairy", derived from Middle English faie meaning "magical, enchanted", ultimately (via Old French) from Latin fata meaning "the Fates". It appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's chronicles in the name of Morgan le Fay. In some cases it may be used as a short form of Faith. It has been used as a feminine given name since the 19th century.... [more]

Feray f Turkish
Means "radiance of the moon" in Turkish.

Gay f English
From the English word gay meaning "gay, happy". By the mid-20th century the word had acquired the additional meaning of "homosexual", and the name has subsequently dropped out of use.

Gray m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname meaning "grey", originally given to a person who had grey hair or clothing.

Gülay f Turkish, Azerbaijani
Means "rose moon" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, derived from gül, ultimately Persian گل (gol), meaning "rose" combined with ay meaning "moon".

Günay f & m Turkish, Azerbaijani
Derived from the Turkic elements gün "sun" and ay "moon".

İlkay f & m Turkish
Means "new moon" in Turkish, derived from ilk "first" and ay "moon".

Islay f & m Scottish
From the name of the island of Islay, which lies off of the west coast of Scotland.

Kay 1 f English
Short form of Katherine and other names beginning with K.

Lashay f African American (Modern)
Combination of the popular phonetic elements la and shay.

Lindsay f & m English
From an English and Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of the eastern English region of Lindsey, which means "Lincoln island" in Old English. As a given name it was typically masculine until the 1960s (in Britain) and 70s (in America) when it became popular for girls, probably due to its similarity to Linda and because of American actress Lindsay Wagner (1949-).

Linsay f English (Rare)
Variant of Lindsay.

Lyndsay f English (Modern)
Variant of Lindsay.

Lynsay f English (Rare)
Variant of Lindsay.

May f English
Derived from the name of the month of May, which derives from Maia, the name of a Roman goddess. May is also another name of the hawthorn flower. It is also used as a diminutive of Mary, Margaret or Mabel.

Millaray f Mapuche
Means "golden flower" in Mapuche, from milla "gold" and rayen "flower".

Miray f Turkish
Meaning uncertain, possibly from Arabic أمير (ʾamīr) meaning "commander" combined with Turkish ay meaning "moon, month".

Monday m & f English (African)
From the English word for the day of the week, which was derived from Old English mona "moon" and dæg "day". This can be given to children born on Monday, especially in Nigeria.

Nilay f Turkish, Azerbaijani
From Turkish and Azerbaijani Nil, the name of the Nile River, combined with ay meaning "moon".

Nuray f Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh
Means "bright moon" in Turkish, Azerbaijani and Kazakh, ultimately from Arabic نور (nūr) meaning "light" and Turkic ay meaning "moon".

Saray f Spanish
Spanish variant of Sarai.

Şenay f Turkish
Means "merry moon" in Turkish.

Shay 1 m & f Irish
Anglicized form of Séaghdha, sometimes used as a feminine name.

Shay 2 m & f Hebrew
Alternate transcription of Hebrew שַׁי (see Shai).

Simay f Turkish
Means "silver moon" in Turkish, from sim meaning "silver, glitter" and ay meaning "moon".

Sons-ee-ah-ray f Apache
Possibly means "morning star" from Apache sons-ee-ah-ray. This name was featured in the western movie Broken Arrow (1950).

Sunday m & f English
From the name of the day of the week, which ultimately derives from Old English sunnandæg, which was composed of the elements sunne "sun" and dæg "day". This name is most common in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

Tuesday f English (Rare)
From the English word for the day of the week, which derives from Old English tiwesdæg meaning "Tiw's day".

Tülay f Turkish
Means "tulle moon" in Turkish.

Umay f Mythology, Turkish
From a Turkic word meaning "womb" or "placenta". This was the name of a Turkic and Mongolian goddess associated with childbirth.

Wednesday f Popular Culture
From the name of the day of the week, which was derived from Old English wodnesdæg meaning "Woden's day". On the Addams Family television series (1964-1966) this was the name of the daughter, based on an earlier unnamed character in Charles Addams' cartoons. Her name was inspired by the popular nursery rhyme line Wednesday's child is full of woe.

Zaray f Spanish (Latin American)
Meaning unknown.

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