Jay

Jay is an English name with multiple overlapping origins. As an independent given name it began as an alphabetic name derived from the letter J, used as a given name in its own right, and was also employed as a short form of any name beginning with J, such as James, John, or Jason. It additionally draws on the English word for the jay bird, a name ultimately from the Latin personal name Gaius, which Romans used as a common praenomen. Jai and Jaye are common variant spellings, and the name shares its informal spirit with similarly letter-derived names like Kay and Kay.