Jay

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Jay is a predominantly male given name. 'Jaya' is a female variation or female given name with same meaning and origin from Sanskrit. It has multiple origins and meanings, commonly associated with intelligence, cheerfulness, and victory.

From Wikipedia

Jay first appears in the data in 1975 and has been recorded in 27 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1981 with 192 babies (rank #66 that year). It was not in the 2025 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Jay

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Jay yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

9Destiny numberThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
8Soul urgeThe achieverDriven, capable, comfortable wielding influence.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
1PersonalityThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

2,878

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

192

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In The Great Gatsby: Jay Gatsby — the self-made millionaire

Famous people named Jay

Jay Lenostand-up comedian · b. 1950
Jay Bothroydassociation football player · b. 1982
Jay Barucheldub actor · b. 1982
Jay Mohrstand-up comedian · b. 1970
Jay Seanbeatboxer · b. 1981

More popular boys' names

Other boys' names starting with J

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1975	64	#102
1978	131	#87
1979	154	#78
1980	162	#70
1981	192	#66
1982	186	#66
1983	163	#72
1984	173	#68
1985	146	#77
1986	143	#75
1987	150	#78
1988	119	#87
1989	49	#104
1990	124	#92
1991	137	#88
1992	133	#94
1993	46	#108
1994	140	#92
1995	137	#89
1996	143	#91
1997	51	#108
1998	41	#111
2004	55	#113
2014	12	#163
2015	7	#217
2016	9	#194
2017	11	#163