Meaning & Origin
A surname from Irish.
Shay is a girl's and boy's baby name of Irish origin, from the Gaelic Séaghdha, meaning 'admirable, fine' or 'hawk-like, majestic,' used as both a given name and a short form of names like Shayla or Shaylin.
Shay works beautifully as a standalone name or nickname — it's short, confident, and gender-flexible, with a sound that's immediately familiar without being ubiquitous. In Irish tradition, Shay is most commonly a boy's name, but in American usage it has skewed female, sitting comfortably alongside names like Ray, Faye, and May.