Jay
Jay was given to 809 boys in 2025, #392 among boys’ names; 198,132 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 138,000 Americans named Jay and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (70% of everyone recorded); the median is 57 years old and half are between 39 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Jay by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Jay mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Jay is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the sense “victory” (literally).
Also “a diminutive of the male given names James, Jacob, Jack, John, and Jason, or for any other name beginning with ⟨J⟩; also used as a formal given name.”
Borrowed from Hindi जय (jay, literally “victory”).
/d͡ʒeɪ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Jay?
#392 among boys’ names, 2025
Jay rose from #393 in 2015 to #392 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.42 to 0.47 per 1,000.
5,429 babies in 1960, the peak
Jay peaked in 1960, when 5,429 babies were given it (5,385 boys, #78 among boys’ names). The 818 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 15% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 809 | #392 | 0.47 |
| 2024 | 822 | #396 | 0.48 |
| 2023 | 837 | #381 | 0.49 |
| 2022 | 897 | #367 | 0.51 |
| 2021 | 864 | #377 | 0.49 |
| 2020 | 808 | #380 | 0.47 |
| 2019 | 848 | #374 | 0.47 |
| 2018 | 799 | #398 | 0.44 |
| 2017 | 859 | #382 | 0.46 |
| 2016 | 818 | #392 | 0.43 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 806 | #393 | 0.42 |
| 2014 | 850 | #371 | 0.44 |
| 2013 | 767 | #389 | 0.41 |
| 2012 | 772 | #386 | 0.41 |
| 2011 | 718 | #397 | 0.38 |
| 2010 | 687 | #410 | 0.36 |
| 2009 | 719 | #408 | 0.36 |
| 2008 | 763 | #394 | 0.37 |
| 2007 | 752 | #396 | 0.36 |
| 2006 | 867 | #350 | 0.42 |
| 2005 | 852 | #348 | 0.43 |
| 2004 | 822 | #347 | 0.41 |
| 2003 | 810 | #345 | 0.41 |
| 2002 | 825 | #334 | 0.42 |
| 2001 | 888 | #313 | 0.46 |
| 2000 | 869 | #326 | 0.44 |
| 1999 | 855 | #325 | 0.45 |
| 1998 | 833 | #326 | 0.44 |
| 1997 | 946 | #292 | 0.50 |
| 1996 | 942 | #287 | 0.50 |
| 1995 | 1,011 | #275 | 0.53 |
| 1994 | 1,102 | #262 | 0.57 |
| 1993 | 1,106 | #260 | 0.56 |
| 1992 | 1,220 | #236 | 0.61 |
| 1991 | 1,268 | #234 | 0.63 |
| 1990 | 1,403 | #217 | 0.68 |
| 1989 | 1,444 | #203 | 0.72 |
| 1988 | 1,369 | #199 | 0.72 |
| 1987 | 1,487 | #185 | 0.80 |
| 1986 | 1,484 | #180 | 0.81 |
| 1985 | 1,524 | #175 | 0.82 |
| 1984 | 1,554 | #171 | 0.86 |
| 1983 | 1,541 | #170 | 0.86 |
| 1982 | 1,667 | #164 | 0.92 |
| 1981 | 1,787 | #153 | 1.0 |
| 1980 | 1,984 | #141 | 1.1 |
| 1979 | 2,145 | #126 | 1.2 |
| 1978 | 2,151 | #119 | 1.3 |
| 1977 | 2,097 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 1976 | 2,105 | #126 | 1.3 |
| 1975 | 2,174 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1974 | 2,360 | #111 | 1.5 |
| 1973 | 2,215 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1972 | 2,443 | #115 | 1.5 |
| 1971 | 2,866 | #114 | 1.6 |
| 1970 | 3,415 | #97 | 1.8 |
| 1969 | 3,181 | #95 | 1.8 |
| 1968 | 3,428 | #88 | 2.0 |
| 1967 | 3,612 | #87 | 2.1 |
| 1966 | 3,598 | #91 | 2.0 |
| 1965 | 3,944 | #90 | 2.1 |
| 1964 | 4,567 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1963 | 4,720 | #85 | 2.3 |
| 1962 | 5,158 | #80 | 2.5 |
| 1961 | 5,119 | #81 | 2.4 |
| 1960 | 5,385 | #78 | 2.5 |
| 1959 | 4,940 | #88 | 2.3 |
| 1958 | 5,027 | #86 | 2.4 |
| 1957 | 4,630 | #88 | 2.1 |
| 1956 | 4,120 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 1955 | 3,396 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1954 | 3,372 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 1953 | 3,235 | #99 | 1.6 |
| 1952 | 3,028 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1951 | 2,637 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1950 | 2,584 | #115 | 1.4 |
| 1949 | 2,457 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1948 | 2,272 | #123 | 1.3 |
| 1947 | 2,438 | #119 | 1.3 |
| 1946 | 2,196 | #115 | 1.4 |
| 1945 | 1,760 | #125 | 1.3 |
| 1944 | 1,554 | #136 | 1.1 |
| 1943 | 1,673 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1942 | 1,598 | #133 | 1.2 |
| 1941 | 1,416 | #137 | 1.2 |
| 1940 | 1,291 | #139 | 1.1 |
| 1939 | 1,146 | #142 | 1.0 |
| 1938 | 1,181 | #138 | 1.1 |
| 1937 | 1,147 | #136 | 1.1 |
| 1936 | 1,102 | #140 | 1.1 |
| 1935 | 1,067 | #147 | 1.0 |
| 1934 | 933 | #157 | 0.90 |
| 1933 | 949 | #151 | 1.0 |
| 1932 | 934 | #161 | 0.89 |
| 1931 | 867 | #166 | 0.83 |
| 1930 | 891 | #166 | 0.81 |
| 1929 | 842 | #169 | 0.78 |
| 1928 | 769 | #185 | 0.69 |
| 1927 | 870 | #171 | 0.77 |
| 1926 | 827 | #175 | 0.74 |
| 1925 | 789 | #182 | 0.71 |
| 1924 | 854 | #170 | 0.75 |
| 1923 | 829 | #172 | 0.76 |
| 1922 | 780 | #180 | 0.72 |
| 1921 | 828 | #174 | 0.75 |
| 1920 | 666 | #201 | 0.63 |
| 1919 | 637 | #197 | 0.65 |
| 1918 | 706 | #185 | 0.70 |
| 1917 | 643 | #188 | 0.69 |
| 1916 | 640 | #184 | 0.72 |
| 1915 | 537 | #200 | 0.63 |
| 1914 | 379 | #213 | 0.58 |
| 1913 | 349 | #193 | 0.68 |
| 1912 | 318 | #184 | 0.74 |
| 1911 | 126 | #229 | 0.56 |
| 1910 | 120 | #213 | 0.62 |
| 1909 | 98 | #219 | 0.60 |
| 1908 | 89 | #218 | 0.58 |
| 1907 | 91 | #210 | 0.62 |
| 1906 | 87 | #204 | 0.65 |
| 1905 | 92 | #194 | 0.70 |
| 1904 | 95 | #189 | 0.74 |
| 1903 | 82 | #194 | 0.69 |
| 1902 | 89 | #188 | 0.73 |
| 1901 | 96 | #160 | 0.90 |
| 1900 | 107 | #192 | 0.71 |
| 1899 | 63 | #208 | 0.59 |
| 1898 | 85 | #184 | 0.69 |
| 1897 | 82 | #187 | 0.73 |
| 1896 | 78 | #202 | 0.65 |
| 1895 | 91 | #173 | 0.78 |
| 1894 | 96 | #161 | 0.83 |
| 1893 | 105 | #143 | 0.93 |
| 1892 | 111 | #145 | 0.91 |
| 1891 | 99 | #137 | 1.0 |
| 1890 | 108 | #133 | 1.0 |
| 1889 | 104 | #139 | 0.94 |
| 1888 | 122 | #129 | 1.0 |
| 1887 | 106 | #124 | 1.0 |
| 1886 | 107 | #126 | 1.0 |
| 1885 | 91 | #150 | 0.84 |
| 1884 | 110 | #130 | 1.0 |
| 1883 | 97 | #128 | 0.93 |
| 1882 | 80 | #170 | 0.70 |
| 1881 | 96 | #123 | 1.0 |
| 1880 | 103 | #127 | 0.93 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Jay a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 198,132 Americans recorded as Jay, 1% are girls and 99% boys. In 2025 it went to 9 girls and 809 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Jay: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Jay, and how old are they?
138,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 70% of the 198,132 Americans ever recorded as Jay. The median Jay alive today is 57 years old; half are between 39 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 164,097 people named Jay (3,835 women and girls, 160,262 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 144,678 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 4,940 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 49,600 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 38,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 21,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 12,900 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 10,800 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Jay born?
The states with the most babies named Jay are California, New York and Pennsylvania, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 16,080 | #363 | 0.9× |
| New York | 15,788 | #400 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 13,727 | #381 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 12,737 | #428 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 9,990 | #342 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 9,408 | #356 | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 7,369 | #334 | 0.9× |
| Indiana | 6,045 | #295 | 1.2× |
| Minnesota | 5,816 | #400 | 1.4× |
| Wisconsin | 5,728 | #542 | 1.3× |
Where Jay is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Jay is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 2.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Jay with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 213,098 babies since 1880, Jay is the most given (93% of them). In 2025 it was given to 818 of their 1,092 babies (75%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Jay
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Jay and names like it
- Compare Jay and JaiBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sJay peaked in 1960.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Jay since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Jay: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1960The year the most babies were named Jay.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Jay alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with JMost given first.