Jay
A short form of any J name, reinforced by the bird.
Popularity, 1880–2025
Jay appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in 16 different years between 1953 and 1970. Its biggest year was 1960, when 5,385 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 78 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 392 for boys. All told, 198,132 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Jai (6,535), Jaye (3,586), Jae (2,980), Jahi (850) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Jayla
Explore Jay interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,016 | No. 123 |
| 1890s | 918 | No. 133 |
| 1900s | 926 | No. 160 |
| 1910s | 4,455 | No. 183 |
| 1920s | 8,054 | No. 168 |
| 1930s | 10,217 | No. 136 |
| 1940s | 18,655 | No. 115 |
| 1950s | 36,969 | No. 86 |
| 1960s | 42,712 | No. 78 |
| 1970s | 23,971 | No. 97 |
| 1980s | 15,841 | No. 141 |
| 1990s | 10,686 | No. 217 |
| 2000s | 8,167 | No. 313 |
| 2010s | 7,924 | No. 370 |
| 2020s | 5,037 | No. 367 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.