Jontay
Variant spelling of Jonte, a masculine name with unknown meaning or origin.
Name Census estimates that about 164 living Americans carry the first name Jontay. It is a predominantly male name (91.0% of registrations). The average person named Jontay today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jontay births was 2002 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jontay. 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
164
~ 1 in 2,089,965 Americans
Peak year
2002
15 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2020 SSA rank
#12,992
Tracked since 1982
Census
Jontay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 184 people with the first name Jontay, which placed it at #40,443 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
#40,443
National first-name rank
People counted
184
184 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jontay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jontay is Black at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.9%) and Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Jontay 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 Jontay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.0% · 138
- Two or more races10.9% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 11
- White4.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.3% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Jontay
Jontay leans heavily male at 91.0% of total registrations, but 15 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jontay as a male name
- Ranked #12,992 in 2020
- 5 male births in 2020
- Peak: 2002 (15 births)
Jontay as a female name
- Ranked #14,777 in 1997
- 5 female births in 1997
- Peak: 1982 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jontay on both sides of the split. Of the 184 people counted with this name, 141 were male (76.6%) and 43 were female (23.4%).
Popularity
Jontay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jontay 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 92 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
Jontay 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 Jontay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jontay
The name Jontay has its roots in the ancient Aramaic language, which was widely spoken in the Middle East during the 1st millennium BC. It is derived from the Aramaic word "yunta," which means "dove" or "pigeon." The name itself is believed to have originated around the 3rd century BC, when the Aramaic culture was at its peak.
Jontay was a relatively common name among Aramaic-speaking communities in regions such as modern-day Syria, Lebanon, and parts of Iraq. It was often given to children as a symbol of peace and gentleness, reflecting the qualities associated with the dove.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jontay can be found in the ancient Aramaic inscriptions discovered in the city of Palmyra, located in present-day Syria. These inscriptions, dating back to the 2nd century AD, mention a man named Jontay who was a prominent merchant and trader in the region.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jontay. One of the most famous was Jontay ibn Ishaq (810-893), a renowned scholar and philosopher from Baghdad, Iraq. He was known for his contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and logic during the Islamic Golden Age.
Another notable figure was Jontay al-Dimashqi (1256-1327), a Syrian historian and traveler who documented his journeys throughout the Middle East and parts of Europe. His writings provide valuable insights into the cultural and social landscapes of the time.
In the realm of literature, Jontay al-Andalusi (1009-1070) was a famous poet and writer from the Andalusian region of Spain during the Moorish period. His works, written in Arabic, have been celebrated for their lyrical beauty and profound themes.
During the Renaissance period, Jontay Marcellus (1489-1558) was an Italian humanist and scholar known for his translations of ancient Greek texts. He played a significant role in the revival of classical learning in Europe during this time.
Lastly, Jontay Mikhailovich (1674-1730) was a Russian military leader and statesman who served under Peter the Great. He played a crucial role in the modernization of the Russian army and contributed to the country's territorial expansion during the Great Northern War.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Jontay throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Jontay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jontay 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
Jontay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jontay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 164 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jontay 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 2,089,965 US residents.
Is Jontay a common name?
We classify Jontay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 167 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jontay most popular?
The single biggest year for Jontay was 2002, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jontay is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jontay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 184 people with the name Jontay, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,443 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 Jontay 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 Jontay?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jontay on both sides of the split. Of the 184 people counted with this name, 141 were male (76.6%) and 43 were female (23.4%). 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 Jontay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jontay is Black at 75.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.9%) and Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Jontay most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jontay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (138 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 Jontay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jontay a male name?
Yes, 91.0% of people registered as Jontay 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 Jontay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jontay 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 Jontay 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 share the name Jontay?
Find out how many people share the name Jontay on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.