Jazz
An English given name derived from the musical style of jazz.
Name Census estimates that about 1,480 living Americans carry the first name Jazz. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Jazz today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jazz births was 1994 (63 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jazz. 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.
Key insights
- • Jazz sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 231,591 Americans
Peak year
1994
63 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,471
Tracked since 1983
Gender
Gender distribution for Jazz
Jazz is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,507 total registrations, 897 (59.5%) were male and 610 (40.5%) were female.
Jazz as a male name
- Ranked #4,471 in 2024
- 23 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (37 births)
Jazz as a female name
- Ranked #10,598 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (26 births)
Popularity
Jazz: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jazz from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 477 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Jazz remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jazz 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 Jazz during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jazz' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Jazz, while New York, Georgia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jazz
The name Jazz is believed to have originated from the African American culture in the early 20th century. It is likely derived from the musical genre of jazz, which has its roots in African and African American musical traditions. The term "jazz" itself is thought to have origins in various slang terms from the early 20th century.
Jazz as a given name was initially used as a nickname or shortened form of names like Jasmine or Jazmyn. However, over time, it gained popularity as a standalone name, reflecting the cultural significance of jazz music in African American communities.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jazz was Jazz Gillum, an American blues harmonica player and singer, born in 1904. Another notable figure was Jazz Gillum, a blues singer and guitarist who was active in the 1920s and 1930s.
In the literary world, Jazz Morrison, an African American novelist, and poet, born in 1931, is known for her works exploring the African American experience. Her novel "Jazz" was published in 1992 and is considered one of her most celebrated works.
Jazz Raycole, an American actress and model, born in 1981, is another prominent individual with the name. She has appeared in several television shows and films, including "My Wife and Kids" and "The Game."
Jazz Jennings, born in 2000, is a transgender rights activist and author. She gained public attention for being one of the youngest people to be identified as transgender and has been an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and education.
While the name Jazz originated within the African American community, it has since gained popularity across various cultures and ethnicities, reflecting the global appeal and influence of jazz music.
People
Jazz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jazz 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
Jazz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jazz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,480 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jazz 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 231,591 US residents.
Is Jazz a common name?
We classify Jazz as "Rare". It ranks above 92.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,507 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jazz most popular?
The single biggest year for Jazz was 1994, when 63 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jazz is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jazz a male name?
Yes, 59.5% of people registered as Jazz 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.