Jay is a short form of the given name Jason or Jacqueline. It originates from the Greek language and means "healer" for boys and "God will hear" for girls.
The name Jay was popularized in the mid-20th century, especially among African Americans. It gained further popularity after being used by several notable figures such as jazz musician Jay McShann and baseball player James "Jay" Hanna "Dizzy" Dean.
Today, Jay is a unisex given name that continues to be widely used around the world. Despite its popularity, it remains a timeless classic with a strong meaning behind it.
Based on the statistics provided, we can analyze the popularity of the name Jay in the United States over time.
The name Jay first appeared with a significant number of births in 1896, with five babies named Jay that year. This could indicate the start of a trend for parents choosing this name for their children. However, it's important to note that the data before 1925 is relatively sparse and may not provide a complete picture of the name's popularity during those early years.
The decade from 1926 to 1935 saw a notable increase in the number of babies named Jay each year, with the highest being 41 births in 1926. This suggests that Jay became more popular among parents during this period. After this peak, the number of births with the name Jay fluctuated between 17 and 39 annually until 1945.
During World War II (1941-1945), there was a slight increase in the number of babies named Jay each year, ranging from 20 to 40 births. This trend continued into the early post-war years until 1953 when there were 47 births, indicating that Jay remained popular throughout this period.
From 1954 onwards, we see a clear upward trend in the popularity of the name Jay. Between 1954 and 1962, the number of births with the name Jay increased significantly, from 57 to 59 births per year. This suggests that more parents were choosing this name for their children during these years.
However, starting in 1963, there was a noticeable decrease in the popularity of the name Jay. The number of babies named Jay each year decreased gradually until reaching a low point of seven births in 1992. This decline could be due to changing naming trends and preferences among parents over time.
Despite its decreasing popularity during the late 20th century, the name Jay experienced a resurgence in recent years. After a low point of five births in 2000, there has been an increase in the number of babies named Jay each year since then. From 2014 onwards, there have been between eight and seventeen births with the name Jay annually, indicating that this name remains popular among parents today.
In conclusion, based on these statistics, we can see that the name Jay has had varying levels of popularity in the United States over time. It first gained traction around the early 20th century, peaked in the mid-1920s, remained popular during World War II and its aftermath, declined in the late 20th century, and experienced a recent resurgence in popularity. Overall, the name Jay has been given to a total of 2559 babies in the United States since 1896.