Jay

#10,107 for girls in 2025, 9 births · #392 for boys in 2025, 809 births
Given to boys 98.7% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#78
1960 · 5,385 births
Debut · boys
1880
103 births
In top 100 · boys
16 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
195,548
since 1880

Jay over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201954peak #78, 1960boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#10,1079#392809
2024#6,93216#396822
2023#8,98911#381837
2022#7,63114#367897
2021#8,02413#377864
2020#8,40612#380808
2019#8,59712#373848
2018—#397799
2017#8,77612#382859
2016#14,3316#392818
2015#11,8358#393806
2014#6,98717#370850
2013#13,1507#389767
2012#16,8695#386772
2011—#397718
2010#14,9596#410687
2009#9,97511#408719
2008—#394763
2007#8,52014#396752
2006#13,6067#350867
2005#14,5026#348852
2004#12,7617#347822
2003#7,99813#344810
2002—#334825
2001#8,19612#313888
2000#15,0315#326869
1999#9,4799#325855
1998#10,1228#326833
1997#10,8367#292946
1996#8,8129#287942
1995#7,51411#2751,011
1994#6,31914#2621,102
1993#4,99819#2601,106
1992#10,4797#2361,220
1991#7,98710#2341,268
1990#6,13114#2171,403
1989#6,53112#2031,444
1988#5,32115#1991,369
1987#5,31214#1851,487
1986#4,53917#1791,484
1985#3,98320#1751,524
1984#4,16618#1711,554
1983#3,80620#1701,541
1982#4,16718#1641,667
1981#4,34417#1531,787
1980#3,60922#1411,984
1979#3,54122#1262,145
1978#3,19624#1192,151
1977#3,61220#1302,097
1976#3,54019#1262,105
1975#2,23237#1172,174
1974#2,61628#1102,360
1973#2,26734#1182,215
1972#2,05738#1152,443
1971#3,06222#1142,866
1970#2,12038#973,415
1969#2,35030#953,181
1968#2,16431#873,428
1967#1,84840#873,612
1966#2,58622#913,598
1965#2,06432#903,944
1964#1,97536#844,567
1963#1,81541#854,720
1962#1,44459#805,158
1961#1,69745#815,119
1960#1,69544#785,385
1959#1,55249#884,940
1958#1,57846#865,027
1957#1,50750#884,630
1956#1,37857#924,120
1955#1,48047#1033,396
1954#1,31757#1013,372
1953#1,42447#993,235
1952#1,45444#1063,028
1951#1,55537#1162,637
1950#1,65332#1152,584
1949#1,46939#1182,457
1948#1,66931#1232,272
1947#1,57636#1192,438
1946#1,36041#1152,196
1945#1,26140#1251,760
1944#1,48630#1361,554
1943#1,62527#1341,673
1942#1,91720#1331,598
1941#1,56925#1371,416
1940#1,59124#1391,291
1939#2,03816#1421,146
1938#1,50525#1381,181
1937#1,41627#1361,147
1936#1,54923#1401,102
1935#1,55023#1471,067
1934#1,34429#157933
1933#1,65821#151949
1932#1,52025#161934
1931#1,94117#166867
1930#1,74821#166891
1929#1,44728#168842
1928#1,31034#185769
1927#1,30337#171870
1926#1,19841#175827
1925#1,94620#182789
1924#2,30816#170854
1923#2,26416#172829
1922#2,38715#180780
1921#2,19517#174828
1920#2,17217#201666
1919#2,81311#197637
1918#1,88720#185706
1917#1,43127#188643
1916#1,44526#184640
1915#1,96416#200537
1914#1,74015#213379
1913#1,52815#192349
1912#2,3607#183318
1911#2,4635#229126
1910#1,7738#213120
1909—#21798
1908#1,4399#21889
1907—#21091
1906—#20387
1905#1,5387#19392
1904—#18995
1903—#19382
1902—#18889
1901—#16096
1900—#189107
1899—#20863
1898—#18485
1897—#18682
1896#1,5835#20278
1895—#17191
1894—#16096
1893—#142105
1892—#145111
1891—#13799
1890—#133108
1889—#139104
1888—#129122
1887—#124106
1886—#126107
1885—#14991
1884—#130110
1883—#12897
1882—#17080
1881—#12396
1880—#126103
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Jay was already there! It came in at #126, and was given to 103 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1895–1899, when fewer than 92 boys a year got the name.

See more about Jay
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 4 spots since 2024 (#396 → #392)
  • 12 spots since 2020 (#380 → #392)
  • 1 spot since 2015 (#393 → #392)
  • Biggest jump: 46 spots in 1912 (#229 → #183)
  • Biggest drop: 47 spots in 1882 (#123 → #170)
Rise & fade · boys
80 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1960 at #78 (5,385 births)
  • Births halved by 1972, 12 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 16 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 16 yrs · run 1956–1970
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 396
  • Highest: 1 in 396 boys born in 1960 were named Jay (0.25%)
  • Latest: 1 in 2,111 boys born in 2025 (0.05%)
Era · boys
The 1960s
  • 21.8% of all boys named Jay (42,712) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s1,016#123 (1881)#134
1890s918#133 (1890)#167
1900s926#160 (1901)#196
1910s4,455#183 (1912)#198
1920s8,054#168 (1929)#178
1930s10,217#136 (1937)#150
1940s18,655#115 (1946)#128
1950s36,969#86 (1958)#99
1960s42,712#78 (1960)#86
1970s23,971#97 (1970)#117
1980s15,841#141 (1980)#174
1990s10,686#217 (1990)#271
2000s8,167#313 (2001)#356
2010s7,924#370 (2014)#389
2020s5,037#367 (2022)#382

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Jay in 1954

girls
#1,317
57 births · 1 in 34,069 girls
boys
#101
3,372 births · 1 in 605 boys

Top girls' names in 1954

  1. #1Mary68,019
  2. #2Linda55,371
  3. #3Deborah54,674
  4. #4Patricia49,149
  5. #5Susan47,162
  6. #6Debra45,896
  7. #7Barbara36,368
  8. #8Karen32,456
  9. #9Nancy30,270
  10. #10Cynthia27,615
  11. #1,317Jay57

Top boys' names in 1954

  1. #1Michael88,568
  2. #2Robert86,331
  3. #3James86,311
  4. #4John81,168
  5. #5David79,556
  6. #6William61,426
  7. #7Richard57,042
  8. #8Thomas47,159
  9. #9Gary37,920
  10. #10Charles37,463
  11. #101Jay3,372
More about 1954

girls

1,941,915 girls got a published name in 1954; 1 in 34,069 of them was named Jay, which outranked 80.1% of the 6,625 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.0% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Jay
  1. #1,300Tari58
  2. #1,300Valentina58
  3. #1,300Verla58
  4. #1,317Jay57
  5. #1,317Allie57
  6. #1,317Chandra57
  7. #1,317Corina57
  8. #1,333Billy56
  9. #1,333Dayna56
  10. #1,333Debborah56

Tied with 15 names at #1,317; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1953
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,699Sherree#2,699 → #1,000
  2. ↑ 1,434Sabrina#2,236 → #802
  3. ↑ 932Valinda#1,738 → #806
  4. ↑ 748Sheree#1,071 → #323
  5. ↑ 421Sherie#1,248 → #827
Fallers
  1. ↓ 396Enola#948 → #1,344
  2. ↓ 311Ila#782 → #1,093
  3. ↓ 302Nancie#816 → #1,118
  4. ↓ 282Arline#904 → #1,186
  5. ↓ 269Candyce#944 → #1,213

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

2,038,751 boys got a published name in 1954; 1 in 605 of them was named Jay, which outranked 97.7% of the 4,360 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 32.5% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Jay
  1. #98Earl3,424
  2. #99Norman3,417
  3. #100Tommy3,407
  4. #101Jay3,372
  5. #102Rick3,370
  6. #103Victor3,367
  7. #104Vincent3,358
Biggest movers since 1953
Risers
  1. ↑ 592Ricci#1,331 → #739
  2. ↑ 470Demetrius#1,357 → #887
  3. ↑ 382Crawford#1,378 → #996
  4. ↑ 310Gavin#1,139 → #829
  5. ↑ 296Dino#1,058 → #762
Fallers
  1. ↓ 504Arlin#878 → #1,382
  2. ↓ 347Adan#895 → #1,242
  3. ↓ 345Dayton#966 → #1,311
  4. ↓ 302Garey#966 → #1,268
  5. ↓ 293Bartholomew#975 → #1,268

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1954 →