Key

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Key, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Ciara
• Cian
• Chiara
• Irish
• Sierra
• Ireland
• Ciaran
• Kiera
• Locke
• Kiara
• Bode
• Kira

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Key is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name13 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Colombia, Timor-Leste, Mexico

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Këy, Kèy, Kêý, Kêy, Kéý

• Chinese given name2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Taiwan, China

  Also written Ke-Y

• French given name9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States

  Also written Kéy, Keÿ, Kèy, Këy, Kęy

• a separate name5 spellings in the group

  Also written Kéy, Kèy, Ķěý

• Indonesian name6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia

  Also written Këy, Kéy, Ķéý, Kêÿ

70 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Key is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, different form of Kay

  as a name·Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history]

• In English, , jigi, ju, jiwi; plu., def. st:, jiwisia ; also je- wisia

  as a word·Vocabulary of the Mende Language

• reduced form of McKay.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In Khmer, to embezzle, to steal, to cheat. (id.) cm

  as a word·Headley, Cambodian-English Dictionary, Volume I (ក-ភ)

• In Chinese, to superimpose (an image, typically that of a person) onto another image

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Francis Scott Keyb. 1779USAmerican lawyer and poet who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner (1779-1843)
• Ellen Keyb. 1849SESwedish writer (1849-1926)
• Key Pittmanb. 1872USAmerican politician (1872-1940)
• Francis Scott Fitzgeraldb. 1896USnot in their usual nameAmerican writer (1896–1940)
• Alexander Keyb. 1904USAmerican writer (1904-1979)
• John Keyb. 1961NZPrime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016
• Keegan-Michael Keyb. 1971USAmerican actor and comedian
• James Keyb. 1972GBBritish engineer
• Tim Keyb. 1976GBBritish actor and comedian
• Ki Sung-yuengb. 1989KRnot in their usual nameSouth Korean association football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

What does the name Key mean, and where does it come from?

An object designed to open and close a lock. Recorded by kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations).

How do you pronounce Key?

In Swahili /kej/. Transcriptions are machine-generated except where a dictionary is named.

In which country does Key have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 850 people named Key, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled key.

Where is Key most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Key is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 67 thousand people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is the name Key?

In the United States, the national register counted 850 people named Key in 2020, about 1 in 391 thousand residents.