Ajalon
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "place of deer".
Name Census estimates that about 19 living Americans carry the first name Ajalon. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 63.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Ajalon today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ajalon births was 2002 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ajalon. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ajalon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
19
~ 1 in 18,039,702 Americans
Peak year
2002
7 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2005 SSA rank
#9,139
Tracked since 2002
Gender
Gender distribution for Ajalon
Ajalon is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 19 total registrations, 7 (36.8%) were male and 12 (63.2%) were female.
Ajalon as a male name
- Ranked #9,139 in 2005
- 7 male births in 2005
- Peak: 2005 (7 births)
Ajalon as a female name
- Ranked #17,252 in 2006
- 5 female births in 2006
- Peak: 2002 (7 births)
Popularity
Ajalon: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ajalon by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ajalon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7 | 12 | 19 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ajalon
The name Ajalon is of Hebrew origin, with its roots stretching back to ancient times. It is derived from the biblical place name "Aijalon," which appears in the Old Testament as a town in the territory of the Israelite tribe of Dan. The name is believed to be composed of the Hebrew elements "ayyah," meaning a deer or gazelle, and "lon," which may signify a dwelling or abode.
Ajalon is mentioned in the Book of Joshua as the location where the sun stood still during the Israelites' battle against the Amorites. This event is recorded in the famous passage, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon" (Joshua 10:12, King James Version). This biblical reference has contributed to the name's enduring significance within Jewish and Christian traditions.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ajalon was Ajalon ben Abijah, a Levite mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah (11:10) from the 5th century BC. Another notable figure was Ajalon ben Pedaiah, a priest who lived around the same time and is mentioned in the Book of Chronicles (1 Chronicles 27:20).
In the Middle Ages, Ajalon was the name of a 12th-century Jewish scholar and philosopher from Provence, France. He is known for his work "Sefer Ha-Musar" (Book of Ethics), which dealt with moral and ethical issues.
Moving forward in history, Ajalon Iasone was an Italian Jewish poet and translator who lived in the 16th century. He is best known for his Italian translation of the Hebrew classic "Menorat Ha-Maor" (The Luminous Lamp) by Rabbi Isaac Arama.
In more recent times, Ajalon Aron Gonen was an Israeli military commander who played a significant role in the Six-Day War of 1967. He was born in 1935 and served as the commander of the Israeli Central Command during the conflict.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples showcase the enduring presence of the name Ajalon throughout history, from its biblical origins to its use in various cultural and religious contexts over the centuries.
People
Ajalon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ajalon as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ajalon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ajalon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ajalon going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 18,039,702 US residents.
Is Ajalon a common name?
We classify Ajalon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ajalon most popular?
The single biggest year for Ajalon was 2002, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ajalon is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ajalon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ajalon a female name?
Yes, 63.2% of people registered as Ajalon in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ajalon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ajalon in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ajalon can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Ajalon?
Want to know how many Americans are named Ajalon? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.