60+ Popular Jay-Z Nicknames and Their Origins

Looking for some exciting Jay-Z nicknames? Or just curious about where some of his popular nicknames came from?

Famous rapper Shawn Corey Carter, known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an entrepreneur, songwriter, and an American record producer.

Jay-Z has been an influential name in the rap industry since the 1990s and has evolved greatly over the years, with different nicknames attached to him during this time, each with significant stories behind them.

Here’s our list of all the nicknames of Shawn Carter and their origin:

Popular Jay-Z Nicknames

These are the most popular Jay-Z nicknames, the ones you are more likely to have heard.

Jiggaman

From the track Encore, where he raps, “Do Y’all want more of the Jigga man? Well if y’all want more of the Jigga man…”

Jigga

A nickname from when Jay-Z was in his teens, given to him by his mother after he called 1 billion watts “Jiggawatt” instead of Gigawatt.

Hova

Gotten from one of his lyrics, Rhyme No More where he calls himself JayHova or “Hova,” a self-acclaimed rap god.

Jazzy

A nickname for Jay-Z from his days in the hood.

Jay

A nickname short for Jay-Z. Commonly used as a couple nickname; Jay and Bey.

Iceberg Slim

A self-imposed nickname from his 1997 song Who You Wit, where he called himself “Iceberg Slim.”

Lucky Lefty

A Jay-Z nickname that became quite popular in 1997 after Whatchu Want, a 1997 track by Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Diddy, and Charli Baltimore had Jay-Z comparing himself with Charles “Lucky” Luciano and Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero, from the film Donnie Brasco.

J-Hova

A nickname Jay-Z calls himself as the self-acclaimed “god of rap.”

Hov

A short form of his nickname Hova, the “god of rap.”

Young Hov

Jay-Z’s “god of rap” self-acclaimed nickname from his track Hova.

President Carter

A nickname befitting his status as the president of the Roc Nation, his record label.

King Hov

Hov is short for Hova, or Jay Hova.

Joe Camel

A Jay-Z nickname given as a result of similar resemblances to Joe Camel, an ad mascot in the 1990s

S-dot

A Jay-Z nickname from a line in Looking At My S-Dots, a track he dropped after his signature shoes S. Carter came out.

The following Jay-Z nicknames are not so popular. Some are from other parts of the world, some are from his songs, and some are just plain funny nicknames.

15. Big Homie: A nickname gotten from Jay-Z being one of the biggest “homies” in the rap industry.
16. Black Axl Rose: A nickname obtained from the Jay-Z track Welcome To The Jungle, where he raps, “Black Axl Rose, move halves and wholes.”
17. Black Branch Ricky: A Jay-Z nickname from the lyrics of Brooklyn (Go Hard) where he raps “Now when I bring the Nets, I’m the black Branch Rickey.”
18. Black Warren Buffet: From an Interview held by Forbes on Jay-Z & Billionaire “Warren Buffett,” regarding advice on success.
19. Bobby Fisher: From the lyrics of This Life Forever where Jay-Z raps “…checkmate, in 4 moves the Bobby Fischer of rap…”
20. Caesar: “All hail, Caesar’s home…” was a line from one of his rap songs released in 2013.

25. CEO of the R.O.C: Gotten from his track Public Service Announcement where he “re-introduces” himself as the CEO of his record label.
26. Champagne Hova: This nickname was as a result of Jay-Z’s interest in champagne brand Armand Brignac, which he eventually bought.
27. Clyde: A nickname from his MaNyfaCedGod lyrics where Jay-Z says, “Bonnie and Clyde things, we hold it down…”
28. Doom: A nickname representing Jay-Z and MF DOOM who were both active in Hip-Hop back in the days.
29. Dope Man: From one of Rapper Jay-Z’s tracks back in 1999.
30. Eight Figure Ni**a: From Jay-Z’s lines that goes, “If I wasn’t ah, eight figure n***a by the name of Jigga…” from Can I Get A .. Lyrics
31. Eight Shows H.O: A nickname gotten from a tweet when Jay-Z said – “They call me 8 Shows H.O. You can stunt like that when you own the whole place, though.”
32. El Padrino: This means “Head of the family” from Jay-Z’s track La Familia.
33. El Presidente: Jay-Z being the president of the Def Jam Record Label, which gave him the nickname “El Presidente.”
34. Gemini: From the horoscope sign of June, the birth month of Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s twins.
35. God MC: A Jay-Z nickname similar to being called the “god of rap” or the god MC.
36. Grey Hova: A Jay-Z nickname from the “Grey Hova” Art Print created by Timothy McAuliffe with a grayish image of him.
37. Hovito: A Jay-Z nickname similar to Hova, with the -ito added to make it sound Spanish.
38. Hovi Baby: A nickname from Jay-Z’s Hovi Baby track from The Blueprint 2 Album.
39. International Hov: From one of his rap tracks, where he says being an “International Hov” is his identity.
40. Izzo: A nickname originating from Jay-Z’s Hova song, with Izzo representing the ‘O’ in Hova.
41. Jay Peso: From Jay-Z’s Change the Game rap track, where he says “Jay-Hov, ‘bout to change my name to Jay Peso” in one line of the song.
42. Jefe: A Jay-Z nickname from one of his rap tracks, which means “Boss.”
43. Johnny Blaze: A nickname from the actual name of Jay-Z’s producer, Just Blaze, who produced the songs on most of his popular albums.
44. Louis the Thirteenth: From the City Is Mine lyrics, where he goes “I represent the lifestyle of those who thirst cream, a buck fifty a shot, Louis the Thirteenth…”
45. Lucky Luciano: A nickname from a Jay-Z track, where he attests that “Lucky Luciano, is what they call me.”
46. Major Coin: From Jay-Z’s track Pop 4 Roc where he goes, “I’mma Major Coin with a pretty Bentley…”
47. Mariano of the Marriott: A nickname from Go Crazy rap track, where Jay-Z calls himself “The Mariano of the Marriott, ah.”
48. Mr. H: Short for Mr. Jay Hova, the king of rap music.
49. New Kennedy: A Jay-Z nickname that grew popular after he mentioned he feels he can be best compared to Joe Kennedy.
50. Pulp Fiction: From his Dear Summer track that goes, “Now, I’m ‘Pulp Fiction,’ Colt four-fifth and….”
51. The Black Gangsta: From the chorus of Jay-Z’s track This Life Forever.
52. The Black Jay Gatsby: A Jay-Z nickname given by The Great Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann, who praised Jay-Z’s work on the film’s soundtrack.
53. The New Sinatra: Gotten from Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind track where he raps, “I’m the new Sinatra, and since I made it here, I can make it anywhere, yeah, they love me everywhere.”
54. The Roc Boy: A nickname representing Jay-Z’s record label, Roc Nation.
55. The Ruler: A nickname gotten from Jay-Z’s track The Ruler, off The Blueprint album.
56. Uncle Jay: Gotten from the first letter of his stage name, Jay-Z.
57. William: From the track Can I Live where he goes, “No more, Big Willie my game has grown prefer you call me William.”
58. Big Willie: From the track Can I Live where he goes, “No more, Big Willie my game has grown prefer you call me William.”
59. William H. Hova: A nickname that signifies the wealth of rapper Jay-Z as well as his awesomeness.
60. Young H.O.: A nickname from the lines in Encore where Jay-Z raps, “I’m, Young H.O., rap’s Grateful Dead…”
61. Young Scrappy: Gotten from The Return track, from the line “Young scrappy, that’s what grown man do…”
62. Young Slung: Gotten from the Young Forever Lyrics that goes, “Over Pyrex pots, my name shall be passed down to generations while debating up in barbershops, Young slung, hung here…”
63. Young Vito: A nickname from a Jay-Z track, The Ruler’s Back where he calls himself the “voice of the young people.”
64. Baba Blue: This is a funny Jay-Z nickname, most likely originated from Africa, where “Baba” means father. Baba Blue would mean “Blue’s Father.”

And there you have it – the most interesting nicknames for the American rap god himself.

What’s your favorite Jay-Z nickname from the list?

Are there any Jay Z nicknames that we didn’t include?

Share them with us through the comments section!