NameTides

Jay

Jay was the #392 boys' name in the US in 2025 (809 babies), and #650 in England & Wales and #499 in Canada.

Jay as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
  • NSW
Jay as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSWBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.02.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020ScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandUSCanadaEngland & Wales
Jay as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSWBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.02.557.5101880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. New South Wales publishes its top 100 only, so it appears in the rank view and only in years the name made the top 100. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanadaNSW
2025#392 (809)#650 (56)#208 (20)#253 (7)#309 (14)#499 (60)—
2024#396 (822)#500 (78)#278 (14)#305 (5)#287 (14)#320 (104)—
2023#381 (837)#494 (80)#241 (17)#249 (7)#243 (18)#346 (87)—
2022#367 (897)#453 (89)#191 (23)#177 (12)#251 (19)#376 (81)—
2021#377 (864)#477 (84)#191 (24)#192 (12)#257 (18)#380 (80)—
2020#380 (808)#381 (112)#168 (27)#180 (12)#250 (19)#395 (78)—
2019#373 (848)#339 (133)#163 (32)#138 (18)#295 (15)#380 (82)—
2018#397 (799)#335 (137)#168 (32)#128 (19)#247 (20)#390 (78)—
2017#382 (859)#275 (189)#130 (46)#120 (23)#203 (28)#452 (64)—
2016#392 (818)#249 (215)#117 (56)#98 (32)#237 (21)#453 (65)—
2015#393 (806)#235 (237)#84 (81)#102 (29)#145 (44)#416 (73)—
2014#370 (850)#199 (285)#83 (86)#96 (33)#175 (35)#537 (51)—
2013#389 (767)#202 (276)#60 (115)#62 (49)#152 (42)#474 (60)—
2012#386 (772)#140 (438)#64 (111)#85 (38)#148 (47)#505 (54)—
2011#397 (718)#126 (500)#47 (164)#47 (70)#149 (47)#475 (57)—

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 1960 at #78.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • In the US records since the data begins in 1880.

How common is it?

about 1 in 2,100 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet fewer than 1. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 2,100uncommon
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 4,900uncommon
ScotlandBoys2025about 1 in 980common
Northern IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 1,200uncommon
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 1,700uncommon
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 2,700uncommon

Next year

On its recent trend, Jay is likely to hold steady in the US in 2026: about 1 in 2,100 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 2,000 to 1 in 2,200.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Jay by state, 2025Alaska: fewer than 5 babiesAKMaine: #234MEWisconsin: #523WIVermont: fewer than 5 babiesVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 babiesNHWashington: #309WAIdaho: #332IDMontana: fewer than 5 babiesMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesNDMinnesota: #392MNIllinois: #350ILMichigan: #330MINew York: #399NYMassachusetts: #335MAOregon: #438ORNevada: #443NVWyoming: fewer than 5 babiesWYSouth Dakota: #192SDIowa: #276IAIndiana: #292INOhio: #340OHPennsylvania: #378PANew Jersey: #344NJConnecticut: #326CTRhode Island: fewer than 5 babiesRICalifornia: #360CAUtah: #170UTColorado: #501CONebraska: #335NEMissouri: #392MOKentucky: #708KYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 babiesWVVirginia: #365VAMaryland: #389MDDelaware: fewer than 5 babiesDEArizona: #594AZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 babiesNMKansas: #386KSArkansas: #489ARTennessee: #430TNNorth Carolina: #475NCSouth Carolina: #608SCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 babiesDCOklahoma: #426OKLouisiana: #672LAMississippi: fewer than 5 babiesMSAlabama: #484ALGeorgia: #650GAHawaii: fewer than 5 babiesHITexas: #426TXFlorida: #338FL
Jay (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Ontario2024#36636
Quebec2025#5707

Jay (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
JayCanadaGirls—too few
JayCanadaBoys#49960
JayEngland & WalesGirls—too few
JayEngland & WalesBoys#65056
Jay-England & WalesBoys—too few
JayIrelandBoys#30914
JayNorthern IrelandGirls—too few
JayNorthern IrelandBoys#2537
JayNSWBoys—too few
JayScotlandGirls—too few
JayScotlandBoys#20820
JayUSGirls#10,1079
JayUSBoys#392809