Boys' name · peaked in 1960
Jay name popularity since 1925
186,608 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Jay (1.2% girls, 98.8% boys). Half of them were born in 1964 or earlier, so the typical Jay is about 62 years old in 2026. Jay peaked in 1960 as the #78 name for boys, and it ranked #392 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 186,608
- Named Jay, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #392
- for boys in 2025 (809 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 98.8% boys
- 2,332 girls · 184,276 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 2.27× its national share
Peak year is the year Jay made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Jay births per year, 1925–2025
1960 was the biggest year for Jay both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1955 and 1960, Jay became 1.5× more common, from 1 in 607 baby boys to 1 in 396.
- Steepest fall: Between 1978 and 1983, its share of baby boys fell by 34%, from 1 in 763 to 1 in 1,160.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Jay's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Jay.
Decade by decade
Babies named Jay in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 160 | 4,097 | – |
| 1930s | 227 | 10,217 | #147 |
| 1940s | 313 | 18,655 | #125 |
| 1950s | 466 | 36,969 | #103 |
| 1960s | 380 | 42,712 | #90 |
| 1970s | 282 | 23,971 | #117 |
| 1980s | 173 | 15,841 | #175 |
| 1990s | 108 | 10,686 | #275 |
| 2000s | 75 | 8,167 | #348 |
| 2010s | 73 | 7,924 | #393 |
| 2020–25 | 75 | 5,037 | #392 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
38.6% of babies named Jay from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Jay is most popular
The index compares Jay's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Jay.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 2.27× | 1,326 |
| Utah | 2.19× | 3,450 |
| Idaho | 2.14× | 1,575 |
| Montana | 2.09× | 1,129 |
| South Dakota | 1.94× | 1,141 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Jay and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Jay (this page) | 184,276 | 1960 |
| Jai | 5,160 | 2014 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Jay's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Jay.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Jay (1960).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data