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Lay as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Lay

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The baby name Lay is a Unisex name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /leɪ/ (LAY).

Lay is English in Origin.

Gender: Unisex
Syllables: 1.0
Origin: English
Pronunciation: /leɪ/ (LAY)

What is the meaning of the name Lay ?

The baby name Lay is a Unisex name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /leɪ/ (LAY).

Lay is English in Origin.

Lay is a unisex given name and surname, most commonly traced to the Old English lēah, meaning “clearing” or “meadow.” As a habitational surname it referred to someone who lived by a woodland glade, and it survives in numerous place-names and family forms such as Lea, Lee, Ley, Leigh, and Legh; Lay likely represents a phonetic or dialectal spelling. In Southeast Asian contexts, Lay can also be a Latin-script rendering of Burmese လေး (lei), used in names with senses like “little” or the number “four,” giving the name a separate, culturally specific layer of meaning.

As a given name in English-speaking countries, Lay appears from the late 19th century alongside the broader fashion for surname-to-forename choices. Today it reads streamlined and gender-neutral, with a nature-evoking feel. Variant spellings and related options include Ley, Leigh, Lea, Lee, Layne/Lane, and Laine. Notable bearer: C-pop star Lay (Zhang Yixing).

Lay has the following similar or variant Names

Lay – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
KH 0 #3 1 102
KH Girls 0 #6 1 148
LU 0 #66 1 2,830
JP 0 #76 2 4,057
ID Girls 0 #97 6 3,319
PH 0 #110 1 5,607
BN Girls 0 #113 2 5,459
KW 0 #121 1 5,216
OM 0 #121 1 6,215
ID Boys 0 #129 7 4,130
IQ 0 #133 1 3,533
MU 0 #137 1 3,613
BN Boys 0 #138 2 6,332
BW Boys 0 #154 1 4,685
CR 0 #165 1 5,526
AE 0 #187 1 10,220
AO Girls 0 #188 22 4,575
LU Girls 0 #189 2 4,850
RU 0 #194 1 3,641
SG 0 #214 56 11,010
BG Boys 0 #220 1 3,850
AL Girls 0 #227 1 4,141
IR 0 #231 1 4,221
MO Boys 0 #231 4 5,842
NA Girls 0 #237 1 7,146
AO Boys 0 #245 5 5,568
PT 0 #247 4 4,161
GH 0 #248 1 5,396
JP Girls 0 #249 3 6,592
TW Boys 0 #251 6 7,111
MO Girls 0 #262 2 7,056
MY 0 #266 65 12,352
NG 0 #272 1 5,926
JM Girls 0 #278 1 7,507
TW Girls 0 #284 6 8,139
JP Boys 0 #303 1 7,909
CN Boys 0 #307 13 9,639
QA Girls 0 #307 10 15,378
SA 0 #309 4 10,560
KZ Girls 0 #331 2 5,862
DK Boys 0 #332 1 7,401
GH Girls 0 #337 1 6,973
JO Girls 0 #337 3 7,570
PL Boys 0 #340 1 6,459
SG Girls 0 #351 243 18,916
CN Girls 0 #353 7 8,829
HK 0 #353 5 8,483
BR 0 #354 7 5,969
MU Girls 0 #355 8 8,539
SD Girls 0 #357 2 7,678
GH Boys 0 #358 4 8,138
PH Girls 0 #374 17 13,098
PT Boys 0 #376 6 7,951
JO Boys 0 #386 4 7,057
YE 0 #398 1 8,639
PH Boys 0 #405 4 11,440
BD Girls 0 #406 1 8,413
EG 0 #411 2 6,387
PT Girls 0 #415 37 7,952
OM Girls 0 #417 8 15,987
CL 0 #433 2 6,867
MX 0 #442 4 8,339
PA Girls 0 #469 13 9,861
IQ Girls 0 #470 35 11,303
AR Boys 0 #481 3 7,628
GT Boys 0 #499 1 7,625
PA Boys 0 #499 7 9,305
KW Girls 0 #501 15 19,177
CO 0 #506 5 7,768
CR Boys 0 #508 3 10,188
HK Boys 0 #510 18 12,905
MY Girls 0 #514 558 24,821
CR Girls 0 #522 11 11,342
RU Girls 0 #522 2 11,913
RU Boys 0 #522 5 12,621
UY Girls 0 #534 3 6,731
AE Girls 0 #537 17 20,968
GT Girls 0 #540 2 7,500
IR Girls 0 #542 4 8,334
PS Girls 0 #546 2 10,981
LY 0 #555 5 12,703
CM Girls 0 #559 2 11,671
PS Boys 0 #559 3 10,655
HK Girls 0 #579 37 16,104
BH 0 #584 4 17,937
BD Boys 0 #605 1 10,045
SG Boys 0 #605 93 17,960
BO Boys 0 #619 4 9,244
AR Girls 0 #623 8 8,289
IL Boys 0 #624 2 10,983
IL Girls 0 #644 2 11,648
BO Girls 0 #647 5 9,488
IN Girls 0 #652 3 13,121
LB 0 #688 3 13,263
TN 0 #688 142 13,765
IQ Boys 0 #691 7 13,071
CL Boys 0 #695 6 13,390
Finland Girls 2026 #733 6 3,895
QA Boys 0 #741 3 18,093
BR Girls 0 #747 198 12,708
SY 0 #763 5 11,684
BR Boys 0 #783 3 12,213
KW Boys 0 #801 6 18,755
Germany Girls 0 #825 14 4,949
NG Girls 0 #826 1 15,093
MY Boys 0 #840 277 25,439
CL Girls 0 #841 11 14,098
SA Girls 0 #841 95 25,931
PE Boys 0 #867 12 14,506
EG Boys 0 #876 11 15,035
United States Boys 2016 #891 7 7,365
Spain Boys 0 #894 37 5,610
CO Boys 0 #910 11 15,656
OM Boys 0 #913 6 17,948
EG Girls 0 #922 38 14,742
NL Girls 0 #925 31 5,933
United States Girls 2016 #934 5 9,437
NL Boys 0 #940 12 5,873
Spain Girls 0 #956 28 5,561
MA 0 #961 168 20,986
MX Boys 0 #963 20 16,355
IN Boys 0 #991 11 16,750
NG Boys 0 #997 5 16,906
PE Girls 0 #1,003 8 14,861
CO Girls 0 #1,035 44 16,140
DZ 0 #1,050 127 20,130
ZA Girls 0 #1,127 15 25,928
MX Girls 0 #1,129 55 17,781
AE Boys 0 #1,135 9 22,615
ZA Boys 0 #1,149 30 25,619
TR 0 #1,188 24 19,440
IT Girls 0 #1,421 26 9,415
IT Boys 0 #1,438 34 10,046
SA Boys 0 #1,585 30 28,008

Lay is popular in 68 countries — most recent births per country:

United States
AE
AL
AO
AR

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People also ask about Lay

Lay is a unisex name, given to both boys and girls.
Lay is a one syllable name, pronounced /leɪ/ (LAY).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Lee, Leigh, Lea, Lei and Lai.
Across languages, Lay has these equivalents: Lee (English), Leigh (English), Lei (Chinese pinyin), Lai (Chinese/Vietnamese).
Somewhat — Lay ranked #733 in Finland in 2026, and appears in official birth registries across 2 countries, placing it just outside the most common names.
Lay ranks highest in Finland (#733 in 2026).