Gay

Gay (Gaye) is a female or male given name (795th ("Gay") and 1295th ("Gaye") most common female name in the United States, according to the 1990 U.S. census.)
It can also be used as a short form of the female names Gaynell and Gaynor and as a short form of the male names Gaylen and Gaylord.
The writer Gay Talese's name is derived from Gaetano, his grandfather's name.
The first name of the popular male Irish television presenter Gabriel Byrne was always abbreviated as "Gay", as in the title of his radio show The Gay Byrne Show.

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Late 14c., "full of joy, merry; light-hearted, carefree;" also "wanton, lewd, lascivious" (late 12c. as a surname, Philippus de Gay), from Old French gai "joyful, happy; pleasant, agreeably charming; forward, pert; light-colored" (12c.; compare Old Spanish gayo, Portuguese gaio, Italian gajo, probably French loan-words). Ultimate origin disputed; perhaps from Frankish *gahi (related to Old High German wahi "pretty"), though not all etymologists accept this. Meaning "stately and beautiful; splendid and showily dressed" is from early 14c. In the English of Yorkshire and Scotland formerly it could mean "moderately, rather, considerable" (1796; compare sense development in pretty (adj.)). The word gay by the 1890s had an overall tinge of promiscuity -- a gay house was a brothel. The suggestion of immorality in the word can be traced back at least to the 1630s, if not to Chaucer: But in oure bed he was so fressh and gay Whan that he wolde han my bele chose. Slang meaning "homosexual" (adj.) begins to appear in psychological writing late 1940s, evidently picked up from gay slang and not always easily distinguished from the older sense: After discharge A.Z. lived for some time at home. He was not happy at the farm and went to a Western city where he associated with a homosexual crowd, being "gay," and wearing female clothes and makeup. He always wished others would make advances to him. ["Rorschach Research Exchange and Journal of Projective Techniques," 1947, p.240] The association with (male) homosexuality likely got a boost from the term gay cat, used as far back as 1893 in American English for "young hobo," one who is new on the road, also one who sometimes does jobs. "A Gay Cat," said he, "is a loafing laborer, who works maybe a week, gets his wages and vagabonds about hunting for another 'pick and shovel' job. Do you want to know where they got their monica (nickname) 'Gay Cat'? See, Kid, cats sneak about and scratch immediately after chumming with you and then get gay (fresh). That's why we call them 'Gay Cats'." [Leon Ray Livingston ("America's Most Celebrated Tramp"), "Life and Adventures of A-no. 1," 1910] Quoting a tramp named Frenchy, who might not have known the origin. Gay cats were severely and cruelly abused by "real" tramps and bums, who considered them "an inferior order of beings who begs of and otherwise preys upon the bum -- as it were a jackal following up the king of beasts" [Prof. John J. McCook, "Tramps," in "The Public Treatment of Pauperism," 1893], but some accounts report certain older tramps would dominate a gay cat and employ him as a sort of slave. In "Sociology and Social Research" (1932-33) a paragraph on the "gay cat" phenomenon notes, "Homosexual practices are more common than rare in this group," and gey cat "homosexual boy" is attested in Noel Erskine's 1933 dictionary of "Underworld & Prison Slang" (gey is a Scottish variant of gay). The "Dictionary of American Slang" reports that gay (adj.) was used by homosexuals, among themselves, in this sense since at least 1920. Rawson ["Wicked Words"] notes a male prostitute using gay in reference to male homosexuals (but also to female prostitutes) in London's notorious Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889. Ayto ["20th Century Words"] calls attention to the ambiguous use of the word in the 1868 song "The Gay Young Clerk in the Dry Goods Store," by U.S. female impersonator Will S. Hays, but the word evidently was not popularly felt in this sense by wider society until the 1950s at the earliest. "Gay" (or "gai") is now widely used in French, Dutch, Danish, Japanese, Swedish, and Catalan with the same sense as the English. It is coming into use in Germany and among the English-speaking upper classes of many cosmopolitan areas in other countries. [John Boswell, "Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality," 1980] As a teen slang word meaning "bad, inferior, undesirable," without reference to sexuality, from 2000.

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From Old French gai, means: happy, merry, light-hearted. By the mid-20th century the word had acquired the additional meaning of homosexual.

Popularity	Name	Birth Year	Description
1	Tyson Gay	1982	American track and field sprint athlete
2	Rudy Gay	1986	American professional basketball player
3	Roxane Gay	1974	American writer
4	Gay Talese	1932	American writer
5	Gay Byrne	1934	Irish television and radio presenter
6	Alberta Gay	1913	Mother of American recording artist Marvin Gaye
7	Peter Gay	1923	Historian, author
8	Virginia Gay	1981	Australian actress
9	Don Gay	1953	American rodeo performer
10	Hobart R. Gay	1894	United States Army general
11	Gay Hamilton	1943	British actress
12	Randall Gay	1982	Player of American football
13	Gay Robot
14	Jordan Gay	1990	American football player
15	Pamela L. Gay	1973	Astronomer
16	Gay Brewer	1932	Professional golfer
17	Christopher Daniel Gay		American excapee
18	Frank William Gay	1920	American businessman
19	Gay Ghost
20	Brian Gay	1971	All-American college golfer, professional golfer, PGA Tour member
21	Robert C. Gay	1951	American Mormon leader
22	Blenda Gay	1950	Murdered American football player
23	Jonathan Gay	1967	American computer programmer
24	Noel Gay	1898	British composer
25	Antoine Gay	1790	Frenchman possessed by a demon
26	Ross Gay	1974	American writer and academic
27	Gay Hendricks	1945	American psychologist
28	Gay Soper	1916	British actress
29	Gay Search		British gardener
30	Duncan Gay	1950	Australian politician
31	Rafael Pérez Gay	1957	Mexican writer
32	Gay Woods	1948	Irish singer
33	Gay Blackstone	1920	American magician and producer
34	Olivier Gay	1979	French crime writer
35	Cesc Gay	1967	Spanish film director
36	José Aurelio Gay	1965	Spanish football player/manager
37	Ate Gay		Filipino actor and comedian
38	Edwin Francis Gay	1867	American economist
39	Benjamin Gay	1980	American football player
40	Ramón Gay	1917	Mexican actor, film actor and stage actor (1917-1960)
41	Connie B. Gay	1914	American music executive
42	Marie-Louise Gay	1952	Canadian illustrator and children's writer
43	Gay Seabrook	1901	Actress
44	Gay Hartwig		American actress
45	Gay McDougall	1947	American human rights activist
46	D. J. Gay	1989	Basketball player
47	Jamal Gay	1989	Footballer
48	Gay Kayler	1941	Australian country musician
49	Kelly Gay		Author
50	Gay Bryan	1927	American long and triple jumper
51	Dario Gay	1960	Italian singer-songwriter
52	Nancy Gay		Argentinian actor
53	Maria Gay	1879	Singer
54	Gay Culverhouse	1947	American football executive
55	Megan Gay	1967	New Zealand actress
56	Joey Gay	1971	American actor and comedian
57	Lana Gay		Canadian broadcaster
58	Fer Gay	1983	Mexican actor and tv host of TvAzteca and Fox Sports
59	David Gay	1920	British Army officer, Cricketer, Educator
60	Domenico Seren Gay	1931	Italian composer
61	Jennifer Gay	1935	British television announcer
62	Sidney Howard Gay	1814	Abolitionist, journalist
63	Gay Elmore		Standout basketball player at Virginia Military Institute in the 1980s
64	Gay Ellis		Fictional character
65	Walter Gay	1856	American artist
66	Danelle Gay		American model
67	Gerald Gay	1956	American politician
68	Mary Ann Harris Gay	1829	Author and poet
69	Sophie Gay	1776	French writer
70	Git Gay	1921	Swedish revue performer, actress and singer
71	Mabel Gay	1983	Athletics competitor
72	Adelaide Gay	1989	American soccer player
73	Bram Gay	1930	British musician
74	Gay Block	1942	American photographer
75	Martin Gay	1726	Canadian politician
76	Edward James Gay	1878	United States Senator from Louisiana
77	Linda Gay	1921	Brazilian actress
78	Edward Gay	1837	Irish American Landscape artist
79	Jean-Christophe Gay	1962	French geographer and school teacher
80	Byron Gay	1886	American songwriter
81	João Pedro Gay	1815
82	Steve Gay	1947	American soccer player-coach
83	Ruth Gay	1922	Jewish writer
84	Gay A. Bradshaw		American psychologist
85	Dixie Friend Gay		American artist
86	Andrew Gay	1989	Australian-Welsh rugby league player
87	Dorothy Kelly Gay	1943	Politician, 34th mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
88	Gay Courter	1944	American writer
89	Francisque Gay	1885	French politician
90	Leslie Gay	1871	English cricketer and footballer
91	Willy Gay	1890
92	Aquiles Gay
93	George K. Gay	1810	American fur trader
94	Frederick Parker Gay	1874	American bacteriologist
95	Jesús Bal y Gay	1905	Composer
96	Bill Gay	1927	Former professional American football player
97	Jules Gay	1809	French journalist and publisher
98	Gay O'Driscoll		Irish hurler and gaelic footballer
99	Patrice Gay	1973	French racing driver
100	Al Gay	1928	British musician
101	Gay Jacobsen D'Asaro	1954	American fencer
102	Héctor Gay	1958
103	David W. Gay	1935	American general
104	Tim Gay	1979	American politician
105	José Antonio Gay	1833	Mexican priest and writer (1833-1886)
106	Matthew Gay		American basketball player
107	Friedbert Gay	1956	German writer
108	Marie-Claude Gay		French writer
109	Carlo Francesco Gay	1914	Italian officer
110	Samuel Gay	1755	Judge and political figure in New Brunswick
111	Marion Kortsteger	1968	German author
112	Gay Kernan	1947	American politician
113	Desirée Gay	1810	French feminist
114	Jean Gay	1901	French catholic priest (1901-1977)
115	Gay Thompson	1948	Australian politician
116	Earl C. Gay	1902
117	Romina Gay
118	Charles Louis Gay	1815
119	Susan Elizabeth Gay	1845	British chronicler
120	Jotham Gay	1733	Canadian politician
121	Auretta Gay	1947	Italian actress
122	Geoff Gay	1957	English footballer
123	Sherman Gay	1982	American basketball player
124	Gay Ehrnrooth	1925
125	Federico Gay	1896	Road bicycle racer
126	Jane de Gay	1966	British academic
127	Big Gay Al		Fictional character
128	Margie Gay	1920	American actor (1920-2005)
129	Éric Gay	1958	French politician
130	Gay Hayden		American pioneer
131	Catherine Gay		French actress
132	Terry Gay	1947	Australian rules footballer
133	José María Pérez Gay	1944	Mexican writer, diplomat, philosopher
134	Robert Marie Gay	1927	Canadian priest
135	Jaques Étienne Gay	1786	French botanist
136	James W. Gay	1840	Native American herb healer
137	Robert J. Gay		American paleontologist
138	Gay Mandeville	1894	Bishop of Barbados; Barbadian Anglican bishop
139	Jacques Gay	1851	French painter
140	Chet Gay	1900	American football player
141	Robert Gay		English doctor and politician, died 31 October 1738
142	Gay Cowbourne		Canadian politician
143	Titus Gay	1787	American slave
144	Greg Gay	1952	American politician
145	Cédric Gay	1982	French rugby league player
146	Danny Gay	1950	Canadian politician
147	Gay Caswell	1948	Canadian politician
148	Gay Fawcett		Slalom canoeist
149	Winckworth Allan Gay	1821	American artist
150	Everett Gay	1964
151	Adelquis Remón Gay	1949
152	Pierre Gay	1916
153	Armand Gay
154	Gay Allison	1943
155	Brandon Gay	1982	American basketball player
156	Gay Mitchell	1948	Gaelic football player
157	Mary Gay	1765
158	Valentin Gay	1739	French politician (1739-1833)
159	Thomas Gay		English politician
160	Louis Gay	1772	French officer
161	Victor Gay	1855	French politician
162	Jérôme Gay	1975	French ski jumper
163	Michel Gay	1947
164	Pascal Gay	1775	French architect
165	William Gay	1814	British landscape gardener and surveyor
166	Joan Gay i Planella	1867	Spanish composer (1867-1926)
167	Maisie Gay	1878	British actress and singer
168	Bob Gay	1928	Belgian composer
169	Jean-Jacques Gay	1935	Swiss writer and poet
170	Valérie Gay	1968	French table tennis player
171	Gay O'Carroll	1964	Irish footballer
172	Gay Robins
173	Gustavo Gay	1899	Italian association football player
174	Richard Gay
175	Gay Longworth	1970	British writer
176	Norman Gay	2000	Film editor
177	Simona Gay	1898
178	Jan Jakub Gay	1801	Polish architect
179	Ernst Gay	1927	German politician
180	Claude Gay
181	Paul Gay	1874	French politician
182	Ernest Gay	1847	French writer and municipal councillor (1847-1939)
183	Carrem Gay	1987	American basketball player
184	Gay Lundin	1950	Swedish actor
185	Piergiorgio Gay	1959	Italian film director and screenwriter
186	Augusto Haupold Gay	1915	Spanish writer (1915-1996)
187	George Howell Gay	1858	American painter
188	François Gay	1827
189	Gay McManus	1958
190	Merrill Gay
191	Francesc Porret i Gay	1929
192	Gay Holmes Spears	1958
193	Georges Gay	1926	French bicycle racer
194	Pilade Gay	1870	Italian politician (1870-1914)
195	John Gay
196	Claudine Gay
197	Madeleine Gay	1953
198	Gay von Weissenberg	1901
199	Dan Gay	1961	American basketball coach and basketball player
200	Jean Joseph Gay	1768	French politician