Jet
A modern invented name likely derived from the jet propulsion engine.
Name Census estimates that about 3,286 living Americans carry the first name Jet. It is a predominantly male name (96.3% of registrations). The average person named Jet today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jet births was 2019 (177 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jet. 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 Jet with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Jet is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 122 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Jet is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 104,307 Americans
Peak year
2019
177 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,353
Tracked since 1954
Census
Jet in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,022 people with the first name Jet, which placed it at #5,607 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
#5,607
National first-name rank
People counted
3.0K
3,022 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jet
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jet is White at 51.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.7%) and Hispanic (14.1%). 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 Jet 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 Jet at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.2% · 1,546
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.7% · 534
- Hispanic or Latino14.1% · 425
- Two or more races11.8% · 358
- Black or African American3.9% · 118
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 41
Gender
Gender distribution for Jet
Jet leans heavily male at 96.3% of total registrations, but 122 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jet as a male name
- Ranked #1,353 in 2024
- 140 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (171 births)
Jet as a female name
- Ranked #8,688 in 2023
- 12 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2020 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jet leans strongly male. 2,774 people counted with this name were male (91.8%), compared with 249 female bearers (8.2%).
Popularity
Jet: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jet from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,499 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jet remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jet 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 Jet during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jets live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Jet, while Virginia, Nebraska, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 62 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jet
The given name Jet has its origins in the English language, emerging in the 20th century as a modern invention. It is derived from the word "jet," which refers to the black gemstone or the forceful stream of liquid or gas propelled from an engine. The name's association with speed, power, and modernity likely contributed to its adoption as a given name.
While the name Jet does not have a long historical lineage or roots in ancient cultures, it gained popularity in the latter half of the 20th century, particularly in Western countries. Its rise coincided with the era of aviation and space exploration, lending it a sense of adventure and technological advancement.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Jet was Jet Blake, an American actress born in 1932. She appeared in several films and television shows throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including roles in "The Twilight Zone" and "The Fugitive."
Another notable individual named Jet was Jet Harris, a British musician and bassist who rose to fame in the 1960s as a member of the instrumental rock group The Shadows. He was born in 1939 and played a significant role in shaping the sound of early rock and roll.
In the literary world, Jet Newell was an American poet and author born in 1934. Her works explored themes of nature, spirituality, and the human experience. She published several collections of poetry throughout her career.
The name Jet also found its way into the world of sports. Jet Reid was an Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1970s and 1980s. Born in 1954, he was a versatile player known for his skill and athleticism on the field.
Finally, Jet Idzig was a Dutch painter and artist born in 1914. He was part of the Amsterdam Impressionist movement and gained recognition for his vibrant landscapes and cityscapes. His works are displayed in various museums and galleries throughout the Netherlands.
While the name Jet may not have ancient roots or prominent historical figures bearing it, its modern origins and associations with speed, advancement, and modernity have contributed to its appeal and adoption in recent decades, particularly in Western cultures.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Jet
People
Jet + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jet 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
Jet: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jet?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,286 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jet 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 104,307 US residents.
Is Jet a common name?
We classify Jet as "Rare". It ranks above 95.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,323 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jet most popular?
The single biggest year for Jet was 2019, when 177 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jet is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jet in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,022 people with the name Jet, or 1.00 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,607 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 Jet 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 Jet?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jet leans strongly male. 2,774 people counted with this name were male (91.8%), compared with 249 female bearers (8.2%). 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 Jet?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jet is White at 51.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.7%) and Hispanic (14.1%). 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 Jet most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.2% (1,546 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 Jet in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jet a male name?
Yes, 96.3% of people registered as Jet 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 Jet still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jet 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 Jet 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 Jet?
You can see how many people share the name Jet on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.