Jayjay
A diminutive of the masculine name Jacob, derived from the Hebrew Ya'akov meaning "supplanter".
Name Census estimates that about 197 living Americans carry the first name Jayjay. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jayjay today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jayjay births was 2014 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jayjay. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jayjay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
197
~ 1 in 1,739,870 Americans
Peak year
2014
12 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,077
Tracked since 1974
Census
Jayjay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 638 people with the first name Jayjay, which placed it at #17,339 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,339
National first-name rank
People counted
638
638 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
29.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jayjay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jayjay is White at 29.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (21.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jayjay described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jayjay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White29.3% · 187
- Hispanic or Latino21.3% · 136
- Asian and Pacific Islander21.0% · 134
- Black or African American19.4% · 124
- Two or more races6.4% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 16
Popularity
Jayjay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jayjay from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 91 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jayjay remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jayjay by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jayjay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jayjays live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jayjay
The given name Jayjay is a diminutive form of the name Jay, which is derived from the bird name "jay". The bird name itself comes from the Old French "jai" or "jai", which is a derivative of the Latin "gāius" meaning "jay" or "jay-bird".
The name Jayjay can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Europe, particularly in regions where Old French was spoken. It was often used as a nickname or pet name for individuals named Jay, which was a relatively common name during that time period.
There are no significant historical references or mentions of the name Jayjay in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, the name Jay itself has been documented in various historical records from the Middle Ages onward.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jayjay dates back to the 16th century in France. A notable individual bearing this name was Jayjay Dubois, a French merchant and trader who lived from 1532 to 1598.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Jayjay. For instance, Jayjay Prentiss (1786-1858) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont.
Another notable figure was Jayjay Cullen (1842-1912), an Australian explorer and prospector who was instrumental in the discovery of several gold fields in Western Australia during the late 19th century.
In the realm of literature, Jayjay Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an Irish poet and writer who was part of the Irish literary renaissance in the early 20th century.
Jayjay Moreira (1910-1988) was a Brazilian architect and urban planner who made significant contributions to the design and development of several major cities in Brazil.
Lastly, Jayjay Nakamura (1923-2002) was a Japanese-American artist and sculptor known for her works in ceramics and terra cotta.
These examples highlight the diverse individuals who have borne the name Jayjay throughout history, spanning various cultures, professions, and time periods.
People
Jayjay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jayjay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jayjay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jayjay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 197 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jayjay going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,739,870 US residents.
Is Jayjay a common name?
We classify Jayjay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 200 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jayjay most popular?
The single biggest year for Jayjay was 2014, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jayjay is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jayjay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 638 people with the name Jayjay, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,339 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jayjay in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jayjay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jayjay leans strongly male. 561 people counted with this name were male (88.6%), compared with 72 female bearers (11.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jayjay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jayjay is White at 29.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (21.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jayjay most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jayjay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 29.3% (187 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jayjay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jayjay a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jayjay in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jayjay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jayjay in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jayjay can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Jayjay?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.