Meaning and background
The story behind Shay
Shay has at least two established given-name histories. In Irish naming it is an anglicisation of Séaghdha; the same letters are used for a Hebrew name corresponding to Shai. Those origins are not automatically related. A profile should preserve both possibilities and avoid assigning all bearers a single translation. The English pronunciation is conveniently short, which may make it an attractive dog call.
- Origin
- Either anglicised Irish Séaghdha or an English transcription of Hebrew Shai, depending on naming tradition. Source
Try Shay out loud
Everyday moments“Shay, come here!”
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About Shay
Recorded as a dog’s name
Shay appears in 14 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/ʃeɪ/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/ʃeɪ/ · primary stress on syllable 1SH EY1
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.