Jay

Primarily a boy's name · 99% 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 1880 and has been recorded in 145 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1960 with 5,383 babies (rank #78 that year). In 2024 it was given to 819 boys (rank #396). Its popularity has been fairly steady recently.

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.

197,300

Total babies (all years)

145

Years in the data

5,383

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

Share your Jay story

Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Jay in 2024

Other boys' names starting with J

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1880	103	#127
1881	96	#123
1882	80	#170
1883	97	#128
1884	110	#130
1885	91	#150
1886	107	#126
1887	106	#124
1888	122	#129
1889	104	#139
1890	108	#133
1891	99	#137
1892	111	#145
1893	105	#143
1894	96	#161
1895	91	#173
1896	78	#202
1897	82	#187
1898	85	#184
1899	63	#208
1900	107	#192
1901	96	#160
1902	89	#188
1903	82	#194
1904	95	#189
1905	92	#194
1906	87	#204
1907	91	#210
1908	89	#218
1909	98	#219
1910	120	#213
1911	126	#229
1912	318	#184
1913	349	#193
1914	379	#213
1915	537	#200
1916	640	#184
1917	643	#188
1918	706	#185
1919	637	#197
1920	666	#201
1921	828	#174
1922	780	#180
1923	829	#172
1924	854	#170
1925	789	#182
1926	827	#175
1927	871	#171
1928	768	#185
1929	842	#169
1930	891	#166
1931	867	#166
1932	934	#161
1933	949	#151
1934	933	#157
1935	1,067	#147
1936	1,102	#140
1937	1,147	#136
1938	1,181	#138
1939	1,146	#142
1940	1,291	#139
1941	1,416	#137
1942	1,598	#133
1943	1,673	#134
1944	1,554	#136
1945	1,760	#125
1946	2,197	#115
1947	2,438	#119
1948	2,272	#123
1949	2,457	#118
1950	2,584	#115
1951	2,637	#116
1952	3,028	#106
1953	3,235	#99
1954	3,372	#101
1955	3,397	#103
1956	4,119	#92
1957	4,630	#88
1958	5,027	#86
1959	4,940	#88
1960	5,383	#78
1961	5,120	#81
1962	5,158	#80
1963	4,719	#85
1964	4,570	#84
1965	3,942	#90
1966	3,598	#91
1967	3,612	#87
1968	3,429	#87
1969	3,181	#95
1970	3,416	#97
1971	2,866	#114
1972	2,444	#115
1973	2,215	#118
1974	2,360	#111
1975	2,174	#117
1976	2,103	#126
1977	2,097	#130
1978	2,151	#119
1979	2,146	#126
1980	1,984	#141
1981	1,787	#153
1982	1,668	#164
1983	1,542	#169
1984	1,555	#171
1985	1,524	#175
1986	1,483	#180
1987	1,487	#185
1988	1,368	#199
1989	1,442	#203
1990	1,404	#217
1991	1,268	#234
1992	1,219	#236
1993	1,105	#260
1994	1,101	#262
1995	1,011	#275
1996	942	#287
1997	946	#292
1998	833	#326
1999	854	#327
2000	869	#326
2001	888	#313
2002	825	#334
2003	810	#345
2004	822	#347
2005	852	#348
2006	867	#350
2007	752	#396
2008	763	#394
2009	719	#408
2010	686	#410
2011	718	#397
2012	772	#386
2013	767	#389
2014	849	#371
2015	806	#393
2016	815	#394
2017	859	#382
2018	799	#398
2019	847	#374
2020	807	#381
2021	864	#376
2022	897	#367
2023	835	#381
2024	819	#396