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Growing up, I'd always thought of Jay as a masculine name, as it was the name of more than one guy in my social circle. Then, it was too minimalist for my taste. (I thought the episode of The Simpsons where Homer learned he had a middle name, because the initial he'd discovered was "J," and finally revealed that his middle name was Jay, was hilarious.)

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Fast-forward many years, and I get into the show Midsomer Murders way after it started. Anyway, in one of my favorite episodes that features a slasher obsessed with the 1950s, the village constable helping Barnaby and Troy is a woman named... Jay.

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At first, I thought her name was Jane. Nope, they were saying Jay. I wondered if it was the initial "J" they were saying, a nickname for something else (not unlike the Homer Simpson situation). Then I put captions on and confirmed her name was, in fact, Jay. The character is credited as "WPC Jay Nash" (woman police constable). It was the first time I'd ever seen Jay as a woman's name, not a man's. In her case, I imagine the name is related to the jaybird.

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After a while, I thought about the name. And I thought... why not? It's similar in sound to both Jane and Jade. Though I'd likely opt for Jaye, or even Jae (which I understand is also an unrelated Korean name), because Jay does still look masculine to me.

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Anyway, wdyt?

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www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381
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www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/132018