Entry № 0405 · English, Old French origin

Faye Faye — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ FAY /
Gender
Girl
Origin
English, Old French
Meaning
"Fairy, fae"
Syllables
1
Rank · US 2025
№ 487
First recorded
Modern as given name

A name that means "fairy, fae".

Faye comes from the Middle English fay, meaning "fairy" — itself from the Old French fae, from the Latin fata (the Fates). The same root gives the modern English "fae" and the literary tradition of fairy folk.

Faye is rising rapidly in the 2020s as part of the broader return of short vintage names. The actress Faye Dunaway and the character Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop have kept it visible. Today it sits in the U.S. top 500.

Fairy. The English word for fae, used as a name.

Where Faye stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 487 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 232 in 1934
Babies named Faye · last year
612 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
1900
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · №232 NOW · №487

Fayes before her.

Real people
Faye Dunaway
American actress, Oscar winner for Network.
born 1941
Faye Webster
American singer-songwriter.
born 1997
In fiction
Faye Valentine
Character in Cowboy Bebop.
1998 anime

Names connected to Faye.

The number behind Faye.

6

The Nurturer

Faye reduces to six — the number of small fae beauty.

Why families chose this name.

"Short, magical, with a fairy inside. Faye was right."
Hannah · Mother of one · Devon