How Many People Are Named Jay?
An estimated 146,487 people in the United States have the first name Jay. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #364 overall. It is predominantly male (98.7%). The average bearer is 53 years old, and Jay peaked in popularity in 1960 with 5,427 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Jay as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Jay paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Jay is overwhelmingly male, 2,575 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
146,487
About 1 in 2,340 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
98.7% confidence
Average Age
53
years old
Peak Year
1960
5,427 births
Total Registered
197,300
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Jay
Jay is predominantly male (98.7%), though 2,575 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Jay as a male name
Ranked #396 in 2024
819 male births in 2024
Peak: 1960 (5,383 births)
Jay as a female name
Ranked #7,043 in 2024
16 female births in 2024
Peak: 1962 (59 births)
Jay: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Jay span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 43,092 babies were registered. Jay has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Jay by Decade
How has Jay tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,016 | 1,016 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 923 | 918 | 5 | |
| 1900s | 942 | 926 | 16 | |
| 1910s | 4,605 | 4,455 | 150 | |
| 1920s | 8,295 | 8,054 | 241 | |
| 1930s | 10,444 | 10,217 | 227 | |
| 1940s | 18,969 | 18,656 | 313 | |
| 1950s | 37,435 | 36,969 | 466 | |
| 1960s | 43,092 | 42,712 | 380 | |
| 1970s | 24,254 | 23,972 | 282 | |
| 1980s | 16,014 | 15,840 | 174 | |
| 1990s | 10,791 | 10,683 | 108 | |
| 2000s | 8,242 | 8,167 | 75 | |
| 2010s | 7,991 | 7,918 | 73 | |
| 2020s | 4,287 | 4,222 | 65 | |
Jay by State
Birth registrations for Jay span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Alaska, Vermont, Delaware. On average, about 3,725 Jays were registered per state.
Jay + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Jay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Jay
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
Jay: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jay?
We estimate approximately 146,487 people named Jay are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 2,340 Americans share this first name.
Is Jay a common name?
Jay is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 197,300 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Jay most popular?
Jay reached peak popularity in 1960, when 5,427 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Jay is approximately 53 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Jay a male name?
Jay is predominantly male. 98.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Jay Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Jay Smith, Jay Johnson, Jay Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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