Shem Tov Boy's nameOrigin: internationalIn Israel: steady
HayIn Hebrew: חי · meaning, pronunciation and popularity in Israel
Hay (Hebrew: חי) is a boy's name of international origin. 2,223 people born in Israel between 1949 and 2024 have it today, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). In 2024 it was given to 12 boys and ranked #604. Its peak year was 1993, with 72 babies.
- People in Israel
- 2,223
- born 1949–2024
- Babies in 2024
- 12
- rank #604
- Peak year
- 1993
- 72 babies
- USA
- —
- not in the SSA list
Writing and saying Hay
In Hebrew letters the name is חי, read right to left. Hay is the Latin spelling recorded in Wikidata; families choose their own spelling in passports, so you may also meet other forms.
We have no sourced English explanation of this name yet, so we do not guess one. The Hebrew page has our Hebrew notes when there are any.
Hay by year in Israel
How many boys out of every 10,000 born each year have the name. For Israel it counts the people born that year who carry the name today (the CBS counts residents by year of birth, not birth registrations).
per 10,000 babies of the same sex
Questions about Hay
How do you write Hay in Hebrew?
Hay is written חי in Hebrew. Hebrew is read right to left.
How many people in Israel are named Hay?
2,223 people born between 1949 and 2024 carry the name חי: 60 women and 2,163 men. The count comes from the CBS table of current first names by year of birth; years with fewer than 5 people are not published.
Is Hay a boy's or a girl's name?
In Israel it is almost always a boy's name: 97.3% of the people named חי are men.
Sources
Israel: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), current first names of people born 1949–2024 by sex, population group and year of birth, processed 2026-09-27. CBS publications.