How popular is the baby name Jay in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Jay.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Jay


Posts that Mention the Name Jay

Where did the baby name Caramia come from in 1966?

Jay and the Americans performing the song "Cara Mia" on the TV show "Shindig!" in 1965
Jay and the Americans performing “Cara Mia”

The name Caramia first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1966:

  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: 6 baby girls name Caramia [debut]
  • 1965: unlisted
  • 1964: unlisted

The names Cara and Mia also saw boosts in usage that year.

So what turned the Italian phrase cara mia, meaning “my beloved,” into a U.S. baby name in the mid-1960s?

The song “Cara Mia” by Jay and the Americans, which peaked at #4 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 in July of 1965. Here are Jay and The Americans performing “Cara Mia” on the musical variety series Shindig! in 1965:

The song was originally recorded in 1954 by British singer David Whitfield. His rather operatic version [vid] sold well in the U.S, but not well enough for the name to emerge in the U.S. baby name data in the mid-1950s. (A name needs to be given to at least five U.S. babies per year to be included in the data.) That said, I have come across records for a couple dozen U.S. babies named Caramia/Cara Mia during that time period.

What are your thoughts on the name Caramia?

P.S. The original lead singer of Jay and the Americans was not named “Jay,” but John. His replacement — who is singing “Cara Mia” in the video above — was also not a “Jay,” but a David.

Sources: Cara Mia by Jay & the Americans, SSA

How did “The Real World” influence baby names?

“This is the true story…of seven strangers…picked to live in a loft…and have their lives taped…”

Several months ago, the cast of the inaugural season of MTV’s The Real World held a 6-day reunion in the very same NYC loft they shared back in 1992. The reunion — which was filmed, of course — is now airing as a series on the Paramount+ platform. (Here’s the trailer.)

When I was a teenager, I loved watching The Real World. (And I appreciated that the names of the cast members were always prominently displayed in the opening credits!) So I think now would be a great time to go back and see if any Real World cast member names had an influence on U.S. baby names.

First, let’s start with a comprehensive list of all the cast member names from each of RW‘s 33 (!) seasons…

  1. The Real World: New York (1992): Andre, Becky, Eric, Heather, Julie, Kevin, Norman
  2. The Real World: California (1993): Aaron, Beth (x2), David, Dominic, Glen, Irene, Jon, Tami
  3. The Real World: San Francisco (1994): Cory, Jo, Judd, Mohammed, Pam, Pedro, Puck, Rachel
  4. The Real World: London (1995): Jacinda, Jay, Kat, Lars, Mike, Neil, Sharon
  5. The Real World: Miami (1996): Cynthia, Dan, Flora, Joe, Melissa, Mike, Sarah
  6. The Real World: Boston (1997): Elka, Genesis, Jason, Kameelah, Montana, Sean, Syrus
  7. The Real World: Seattle (1998): David, Irene, Janet, Lindsay, Nathan, Rebecca, Stephen
  8. The Real World: Hawaii (1999): Amaya, Colin, Justin, Kaia, Matt, Ruthie, Teck
  9. The Real World: New Orleans (2000): Danny, David, Jamie, Julie, Kelley, Matt, Melissa
  10. The Real World: Back to New York (2001): Coral, Kevin, Lori, Malik, Mike, Nicole, Rachel
  11. The Real World: Chicago (2002): Aneesa, Cara, Chris, Keri, Kyle, Theo, Tonya
  12. The Real World: Las Vegas (2002-2003): Alton, Arissa, Brynn, Frank, Irulan, Steven, Trishelle
  13. The Real World: Paris (2003): Ace, Adam, Chris, Christina, Leah, Mallory, Simon
  14. The Real World: San Diego (2004): Brad, Cameran, Charlie, Frankie, Jacquese, Jamie, Randy, Robin
  15. The Real World: Philadelphia (2004-2005): Karamo, Landon, Melanie, M.J., Sarah, Shavonda, Willie
  16. The Real World: Austin (2005): Danny, Johanna, Lacey, Melinda, Nehemiah, Rachel, Wes
  17. The Real World: Key West (2006): Janelle, John, Jose, Paula, Svetlana, Tyler, Zach
  18. The Real World: Denver (2006-2007): Alex, Brooke, Colie, Davis, Jenn, Stephen, Tyrie
  19. The Real World: Sydney (2007-2008): Ashli, Cohutta, Dunbar, Isaac, KellyAnne, Parisa, Shauvon, Trisha
  20. The Real World: Hollywood (2008): Brianna, Brittini, Dave, Greg, Joey, Kimberly, Nick, Sarah, Will
  21. The Real World: Brooklyn (2009): Baya, Chet, Devyn, J.D., Katelynn, Ryan, Sarah, Scott
  22. The Real World: Cancun (2009): Ayiiia, Bronne, CJ, Derek, Emilee, Jasmine, Joey, Jonna
  23. The Real World: D.C. (2009-2010): Andrew, Ashley, Callie, Emily, Erika, Josh, Mike, Ty
  24. The Real World: New Orleans (2010): Ashlee, Eric, Jemmye, McKenzie, Preston, Ryan (x2), Sahar
  25. The Real World: Las Vegas (2011): Adam, Dustin, Heather (x2), Leroy, Michael, Nany, Naomi
  26. The Real World: San Diego (2011): Alexandra, Ashley, Frank, Nate, Priscilla, Sam, Zach
  27. The Real World: St. Thomas (2012): Brandon (x2), LaToya, Laura, Marie, Robb, Trey
  28. The Real World: Portland (2013): Anastasia, Averey, Jessica, Johnny, Joi, Jordan, Marlon, Nia
  29. Real World: Ex-Plosion (2014): Arielle, Ashley (x2), Brian, Cory, Hailey, Jamie, Jay, Jenna, Jenny, Lauren, Thomas
  30. Real World: Skeletons (2014-2015): Bruno, Jason, Madison, Nicole, Sylvia, Tony, Violetta
  31. Real World: Go Big or Go Home (2016): CeeJai, Chris, Dean, Dione, Dylan, Jenna, Kailah, Sabrina
  32. Real World Seattle: Bad Blood (2016-2017): Anika, Anna, Jennifer, Jordan, Kassius, Katrina, Kimberly, Mike, Orlana, Peter, Robbie, Theo, Tyara, Will
  33. The Real World: Atlanta (2019): Arely, Clint, Dondre, Justin, Meagan, Tovah, Yasmin

The names in boldface line up with a discernible increase in baby name usage. (Other Real World names may have affected baby names as well, but it can be hard to tell when, say, a name is already common, or already on the rise.)

Here are details on all the boldfaced names, plus two more influential RW names (from seasons 6 and 18) that didn’t even belong to primary cast members.

  • The name Jacinda (from season 4; 1995) saw peak usage in 1996.
  • The name Flora (5; 1996) saw increased usage in 1997.
  • The name Kameelah (6; 1997) saw increased usage in 1998.
  • The name Syrus (6; 1997) saw increased usage in 1997.
  • The name Jason (6; 1997) was probably not affected, but the name of Jason’s girlfriend, Timber, saw increased usage in 1998.
  • The name Amaya (8; 1999) saw sharply increased usage in 1999 and 2000.
  • The name Kaia (8; 1999) saw increased usage in 1999.
  • The name Ruthie (8; 1999) saw increased usage in 1999.
  • The name Aneesa (11; 2002) saw peak usage in 2002.
  • The name Arissa (12; 2002-3) saw peak usage in 2003.
  • The name Brynn (12; 2002-3) saw sharply increased usage in 2003.
  • The name Irulan (12; 2002-3) debuted in the data in 2003.
    • It looks like she was named after the fictional character Princess Irulan from Frank Herbert’s Dune books…?
  • The name Trishelle (12; 2002-3) saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Mallory (13; 2003) saw increased usage in 2003 and 2004.
  • The name Cameran (14; 2004) saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Jacquese (14; 2004) both returned to the data and saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Johanna (16; 2005) saw increased usage in 2005.
  • The name Nehemiah (16; 2005) saw increased usage in 2005 and 2006.
  • The name Janelle (17; 2006) saw increased usage in 2006.
  • The name Svetlana (17; 2006) saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name Colie (18; 2006-7) both returned to the data and saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name Tyrie (18; 2006-7) saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name of Tyrie’s girlfriend, Jazalle, debuted in 2007 and is a one-hit wonder so far.
  • The name Kellyanne (19; 2007-8) returned to the data in 2008.
  • The name Baya (21; 2009) saw sharply increased usage in 2009. In fact, Baya was one of the fastest-rising baby names of 2009.
  • The name Averey (28; 2013) saw peak usage in 2013.
  • The name Kassius (32; 2016-17) saw increased usage in 2017.

Of all the names above, which one(s) do you like most?

And, for all the Real World fans out there: which season(s) do you like most? :)

Source: The Real World (TV series) – Wikipedia

What turned Dizzy into a baby name?

baseball card, 1930s, dizzy dean, baby name

The unlikely name Dizzy was being used often enough in the 1930s to register in the U.S. baby name data for three years straight:

  • 1938: unlisted
  • 1937: 5 baby boys named Dizzy
  • 1936: 6 baby boys named Dizzy
  • 1935: 8 baby boys named Dizzy [debut]
  • 1934: unlisted

So what’s the deal with Dizzy?

It came from professional baseball pitcher Dizzy Dean. He’s best remembered for his very successful 1934 season with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was “one of the memorable performances by any pitcher in history,” capped off by a World Series win over the Detroit Tigers. “Along with the aging Babe Ruth, “Dizzy” Dean was considered baseball’s major drawing card during the Depression years of the 1930s.”

His birth name wasn’t Dizzy, though. “Dizzy” was a nickname he’d acquired in the Army.

He was born in Arkansas with the name Jay Hanna Dean. His given names came from railroad magnate Jason “Jay” Gould (1836-1892) and Ohio politician Mark Hanna (1837-1904). But Dean gave reporters a different birth name: Jerome Herman (which was the name of a childhood friend who had died young). He also gave reporters various incorrect birthplaces and birthdates, claiming later: “I was helpin’ the writers out. Them ain’t lies; them’s scoops.”

Source: “Dizzy” Dean (1910–1974) – Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Numerology & baby names: Number 9

Baby names with a numerological value of 9

Here are hundreds of baby names that have a numerological value of “9.”

I’ve sub-categorized them by overall totals, because I think that some of the intermediate numbers could have special significance to people as well.

Within each group, I’ve listed up to ten of the most popular “9” names per gender (according to the current U.S. rankings).

Beneath all the names are some ways you could interpret the numerological value of “9,” including descriptions from two different numerological systems.

9

The following baby names add up to 9.

  • “9” boy names: Ace, Ed

9 via 18

The following baby names add up to 18, which reduces to nine (1+8=9).

  • “18” girl names: Lea, Ela, Gaia, Acacia, Addi, Naba, Bana, Anab, Dacia, Febe
  • “18” boy names: Can, Jag, Bao, Aban, Acie, Edi, Ale

9 via 27

The following baby names add up to 27, which reduces to nine (2+7=9).

  • “27” girl names: Leia, Aleah, Alma, Aya, Chana, Adele, Dalia, Elia, Amal, Emi
  • “27” boy names: Caden, Jake, Ahmad, Eddie, Koa, Cain, Cian, Jeff, Job, Angad

9 via 36

The following baby names add up to 36, which reduces to nine (3+6=9).

  • “36” girl names: Malia, Anika, Angie, Lina, Belle, Kiana, Erica, Halo, Maddie, Darla
  • “36” boy names: Chase, Reid, Caiden, Jay, Reece, Kase, Alden, Lian, Bilal, Kiaan

9 via 45

The following baby names add up to 45, which reduces to nine (4+5=9).

  • “45” girl names: Arya, Ariel, Remi, Fiona, Selah, Helena, Emelia, Kora, Briana, Emmie
  • “45” boy names: Elijah, Daniel, Cohen, Luka, Clark, Ty, Ariel, Enoch, Fox, Tadeo

9 via 54

The following baby names add up to 54, which reduces to nine (5+4=9).

  • “54” girl names: Bailey, Elliana, Alivia, Alayna, Regina, Carmen, Marlee, Zahra, Karina, Ariya
  • “54” boy names: Gabriel, Mateo, Gideon, Angelo, Devin, Gianni, Rocco, Kairo, Izaiah, Musa

9 via 63

The following baby names add up to 63, which reduces to nine (6+3=9).

  • “63” girl names: Brielle, Madeline, Noelle, Angelina, Olive, Miriam, Paris, Zariah, Fernanda, Hattie
  • “63” boy names: Matias, Emilio, Leonel, Nehemiah, Kylan, Roger, Jaziel, Otis, Caspian, Kaiser

9 via 72

The following baby names add up to 72, which reduces to nine (7+2=9).

  • “72” girl names: Aubrey, Sophie, Valerie, River, Magnolia, Mikayla, Jayleen, Holly, Everlee, Charley
  • “72” boy names: Cooper, River, Tanner, Darius, Mohammed, Jordy, Rocky, Dwayne, Kylian, Aubrey

9 via 81

The following baby names add up to 81, which reduces to nine (8+1=9).

  • “81” girl names: Brynlee, Vanessa, Jennifer, Malaysia, Tiffany, Xiomara, Sariyah, Tenley, Aubriella, Elisabeth
  • “81” boy names: Oliver, Hudson, Nicholas, Jamison, Lawrence, Samson, Nikolas, Rodney, Mustafa, Rogelio

9 via 90

The following baby names add up to 90, which reduces to nine (9+0=9).

  • “90” girl names: Autumn, Saylor, Skyler, Leighton, Evangelina, Bridgette, Paxton, Anderson, Kensleigh, Makinley
  • “90” boy names: Sebastian, Matthew, Theodore, Maxwell, Waylon, Paxton, Clayton, Anderson, Raymond, Skyler

9 via 99

The following baby names add up to 99, which reduces to nine (9+9=18; 1+8=9).

  • “99” girl names: Emersyn, Gracelynn, Priscilla, Grayson, Presleigh, Verity, Yoselin, Lillyann, Stormie, Jupiter
  • “99” boy names: Grayson, Cristobal, Rockwell, Kassius, Kingsten, Stuart, Jeronimo, Jupiter, Creighton, Coulson

9 via 108

The following baby names add up to 108, which reduces to nine (1+0+8=9).

  • “108” girl names: Journey, Roselyn, Violette, Rylynn, Emberlynn, Jacquelyn, Ellington, Stephany, Yatziri, Scotlyn
  • “108” boy names: Alessandro, Vincenzo, Cristiano, Journey, Fitzgerald, Truitt, Tyshaun, Courtland, Treshawn, Ellington

9 via 117

The following baby names add up to 117, which reduces to nine (1+1+7=9).

  • “117” girl names: Marguerite, Novalynn, Brookelyn, Zaylynn, Quinnley, Roslynn, Kynzleigh, Prestyn, Augustine, Krystina
  • “117” boy names: Augustine, Yitzchok, Maximillian, Trystan, Stockton, Treyton, Krystian, Prestyn, Shreyansh, Rustyn

9 via 126

The following baby names add up to 126, which reduces to nine (1+2+6=9).

  • “126” girl names: Brooklynn, Quinnlyn, Tennyson, Quinlynn, Stellarose, Marvelous, Veronique, Lillianrose
  • “126” boy names: Tennyson, Johnwilliam, Marvelous, Victoriano, Robertson, Royston, Artavious, Tavarious, Dionysus, Zygmunt

9 via 135

The following baby names add up to 135, which reduces to nine (1+3+5=9).

  • “135” girl names: Symphony, Kenzington, Syrenity, Sojourner
  • “135” boy names: Oluwadamilare, Thurston

9 via 144

The following baby names add up to 144, which reduces to nine (1+4+4=9).

  • “144” girl names: Yuritzy, Harleyquinn
  • “144” boy names: Constantino, Johnanthony, Oluwalonimi

9 via 153

The boy name Quintavius adds up to 153, which reduces to nine (1+5+3=9).

9 via 171

The following baby names add up to 171, which reduces to nine (1+7+1=9).

  • “171” girl names: Oluwatomisin
  • “171” boy names: Konstantinos, Oluwatimilehin

9 via 180

The unisex name Kamsiyochukwu adds up to 180, which reduces to nine (1+8+0=9).

What Does “9” Mean?

First, we’ll look at the significance assigned to “9” by two different numerological sources. Second, and more importantly, ask yourself if “9” or any of the intermediate numbers above have any special significance to you.

Numerological Attributes

“9” (the ennead) according to the Pythagoreans:

  • “It is by no means possible for there to subsist any number beyond the nine elementary numbers. Hence they called it ‘Oceanus’ and ‘horizon,’ because it encompasses both of these locations and has them within itself.”
  • “Because it does not allow the harmony of number to be dissipated beyond itself, but brings numbers together and makes them play in concert, it is called ‘concord’ and ‘limitation,’ and also ‘sun,’ in the sense that it gathers things together.”
  • “They also called it ‘Hyperion,’ because it has gone beyond all the other numbers as regards magnitude”
  • “The ennead is the first square based on an odd number. It too is called ‘that which brings completion,’ and it completes nine-month children, moreover, it is called ‘perfect,’ because it arises out of 3, which is a perfect number.”
  • “It was called ‘assimilation,’ perhaps because it is the first odd square”
  • “They used to call it […] ‘banisher’ because it prevents the voluntary progress of number; and ‘finishing-post’ because it has been organized as the goal and, as it were, turning-point of advancement.”

“9” according to Edgar Cayce:

  • “Nine – the change” (reading 261-14).
  • “Nine indicates strength and power, with a change” (reading 261-15).
  • “Nine making for the completeness in numbers; […] making for that termination in the forces in natural order of things that come as a change imminent in the life” (reading 5751-1).
  • “As to numbers, or numerology: We find that the number nine becomes as the entity’s force or influence, which may be seen in that whatever the entity begins it desires to finish. Everything must be in order. It is manifested in those tendencies for the expressions of orderliness, neatness. To be sure, nine – in its completeness, then – is a portion” (reading 1035-1).
Personal/Cultural Significance

Does “9” — or do any of the other numbers above (e.g., 18, 63, 99, 144) — have any special significance to you?

Think about your own preferences and personal experiences: lucky numbers, birth dates, music, sports, and so on. For example, maybe your favorite sport is golf, which has 18 holes per game.

Also think about associations you may have picked up from your culture, your religion, or society in general.

If you have any interesting insights about the number 9, or any of the other numbers above, please leave a comment!

Source: Theologumena Arithmeticae, attributed to Iamblichus (c.250-c.330).