Jay

A boys’ name of Latin origin, meaning a form of names beginning with J; also the bird.

Babies a year
856
the US, 2017
Rarity
Uncommon
among names in use
US popularity
#392
up from #396
UK popularity
#650
56 babies · down from #500

How Jay has moved

US popularity rank, 20152025. Lower is more popular.
#333#384#434201520202025#392

View as table
YearUS rank
2015#393
2016#394
2017#383
2018#400
2019#374
2020#381
2021#376
2022#367
2023#382
2024#396
2025#392

In 2025, 56 babies in England and Wales were named Jay. In the US, 856 were, though that figure is from 2017 — the most recent full year we hold. Its US peak was 5,384 in 1960.

Looking further back: between 1880 and 2008, Jay was most common in 1960, when it went to 0.25% of American babies of that sex. Squarely vintage-revival territory.

Names about as common as Jay

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