Jayquan
A name of African-American origin meaning "gift from God".
Name Census estimates that about 1,688 living Americans carry the first name Jayquan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jayquan today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jayquan births was 2001 (105 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jayquan. 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.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 203,054 Americans
Peak year
2001
105 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,502
Tracked since 1985
Popularity
Jayquan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jayquan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 719 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jayquan 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 Jayquan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jayquans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. New York, North Carolina, Florida recorded the most babies named Jayquan, while District of Columbia, Alabama, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jayquan
The name Jayquan is a modern African American name that has become popular in recent decades, but its origins and meaning are not entirely clear. It is believed to be a combination of the names Jay and Quan, with Jay being a diminutive form of the name James, which is derived from the Hebrew name Jacob, meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel." The second part, Quan, is likely derived from the name Juan, which is the Spanish form of John, meaning "God is gracious" in Hebrew.
While the name Jayquan does not have a long historical lineage, it reflects the cultural tradition of blending and creating new names within the African American community. This practice has its roots in the era of slavery when enslaved Africans were often given English names by their owners, leading to a loss of their original African names.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jayquan is difficult to pinpoint, but it is believed to have gained popularity in the late 20th century, particularly in urban areas with significant African American populations. Some of the notable individuals who have borne the name Jayquan include Jayquan McCloud, an American professional basketball player born in 1993, and Jayquan Renfro, an American football player born in 1998.
Another individual with the name Jayquan is Jayquan Smith, an American rapper and songwriter born in 1995. While not a household name, he has gained recognition within the hip-hop community for his music.
Beyond these individuals, there are limited historical records or references to the name Jayquan in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical documents. It is a relatively modern name that reflects the ongoing evolution of naming practices within the African American community.
People
Jayquan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jayquan 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
Jayquan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jayquan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,688 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jayquan 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 203,054 US residents.
Is Jayquan a common name?
We classify Jayquan as "Rare". It ranks above 93% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,716 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jayquan most popular?
The single biggest year for Jayquan was 2001, when 105 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jayquan is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jayquan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jayquan 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.
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.