Jay

What Jay means

Means “victory”

Borrowed from Hindi जय (jay, literally “victory”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Jay” (revision 94540485), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Jay?

US: Steady: #393 in 2015, #392 now. England & Wales: Falling: down from #235 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1960, when 5,385 boys got the name (#78 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,111 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 4,856 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 982 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in SD (1.82 per 1,000 boys), UT (1.63 per 1,000 boys), ME (1.3 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Jay is #392 in the US and #650 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.9% of US babies named Jay were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Joey274 US · 324 E&W
• Joe230 US · 52 E&W
• Jai122 US · 39 E&W
• Joao121 US · 25 E&W
• Joah74 US · 11 E&W
• Jae42 US
• Jah35 US
• Joy27 US · 3 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Jay

Boys

• Russell#345Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 7,487 babies; 944 in 2025
• Leroy#883“the king”^*
• Wayne#652“wagon”^*
• Forrest#374“forest”^*
• Stanley#863“stone + meadow”^*
• Bruce#536Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1956, with 14,660 babies; 558 in 2025

For a sister

• Holly#416“wood, clearing, meadow”^*
• Darcy#857“to burn, consume”^*
• Lacey#738Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 2,399 babies; 370 in 2025
• Kelsey#814Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #343 in 2015, #814 in 2025
• Tiffany#878Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1988, with 18,364 babies; 304 in 2025
• Amber#520“ambergris”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, Sanskrit & Indian, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Jay’s. Rank is US 2025.