Jay surname: meaning, census count and records | FamilyCrests

The Jay surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,852 people carried this name — #3,604 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 29,900 people counted. That is up 1% from 9,771 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Jay surname

An English surname transferred from the nickname from Old French jai (“jay (bird)”), a nickname for a chatty or showy person.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Jay» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 2,001 people named Jay.

34 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 74 départements, most often Savoie.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 34
Savoie 317
Isère 299
Loire 217
Puy-de-Dôme 182
Paris 145
Rhône 93
Doubs 77
Ardèche 60

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 52 people named Jay live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 32
Entre Ríos 20

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

40 people named Jay live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Geneva 17
Vaud 11
Bern 5
Fribourg 4
Basel-Stadt 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In print

Jay in American newspapers,
1873–1915.

Newspaper page from Helena Weekly Herald carrying the name Jay
Helena Weekly Herald 1873-09-25
Newspaper page from Independent Statesman carrying the name Jay
Independent Statesman 1881-09-01
Newspaper page from The Ekalaka Eagle carrying the name Jay
The Ekalaka Eagle 1915-01-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,401,790 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Jay,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Claude Le Jay
    Claude Le Jay 1504–1552 · Catholic priest
  • Mary Stephanie Jay d. 1937
  • Augusta Jay d. 1917
  • Joseph Jay d. 1914
  • Elizabeth Jay d. 1895
  • Maurice Jay d. 2008 · malacologist

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Jay.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Jay is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See what a volume holds
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