Name Jay Origin, meaning, pronunciation & popularity of the name Jay

Jay is a ♂ boy’s name.

What is the origin of the name Jay?

Jay is a Anglo American diminutive of names, that start with “J-“, for example Jason or James. Besides, Jay is an Indian name.

What does the name Jay mean?

Jay means “victory” and “triumph” in Indian (from Sanskrit “jaya/जय”). Besides, Jay has the meanings “healer” (from Jason) or “may God protect”, “holder of the heel” and “supplanter” (from James). Additionally, Jay means “jaybird” in English.

Other spellings and nicknames

Alternative spellings for Jay are Jai and Jaye. Nicknames for Jay are JayJay, JJ and J. Similar first names are Joa, Joah, Joey, Joe, Jie, Joia, Joao, Jiya, Jois or Juyu.

Jay as a middle name

Jay was a popular first name in the mid 1950s until 1970. These generations are now becoming grand parents or are already grand parents. It is customary to use a grandparent’s first name as a middle name. Therefore, Jay is becoming a popular middle name and can be found on many lists for popular middle names. Suitable first names are Dean, Colin, Liam, Taylor, Jamie, Casey, Curtis, John, Tyler, Daniel, William, Lee, Jay or Damien.

Famous people named Jay

• American Rapper and music producer Jay Z is actually named Shawn Corey Carter (born 1969). Since 2008 he is married to singer Beyoncé (born 1981). They share three children, daughter Ivy Blue Carter (born 2012) and the twins Sir and Rumi Carter (born 2017).
• Korean-American Rapper for the famous K-Pop-Band “ENHYPEN” Park Jong-seong (born 2002) is better known under his stage name Jay Park.
• American Late-Night-TV-Host and comedian Jay Leno (born 1950) had one of the longest running late night careers in American history. He hosted “The Tonight Show” from 1992 until 2014.
• Jay Pickett (1961 - 2021) was an American actor best known for his role in the TV show “General Hospital”.

Fictional characters named Jay

• Probably one of the most famous cartoon characters is the yellow father with anger issues Homer Jay Simpson from the cartoon show “The Simpsons”.
• Protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel “The Great Gatsby”, Jay Gatsby, was born as James Gatz, but reinvented himself as the Great Gatsby.
• Detective Jay Halstead, played by Jesse Lee Soffer, is a main character on the TV show “Chicago P.D.”.
• On the TV show “Modern Family”, Jay Pritchett, played by Ed O’Neill, is the head of the Pritchett family and one of the main characters.
• The Elemental Master and Ninja of Lightning in the Lego animated series “Ninjago” is called Jay Walker. He is voiced by Michael Adamthwaite.

Pronunciation of Jay

Variants of the name Jay

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