Amaal
A feminine Arabic name meaning "hope" or "aspiration".
Name Census estimates that about 195 living Americans carry the first name Amaal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Amaal today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amaal births was 2021 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amaal. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Amaal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
195
~ 1 in 1,757,715 Americans
Peak year
2021
15 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,534
Tracked since 1995
Census
Amaal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 288 people with the first name Amaal, which placed it at #30,313 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#30,313
National first-name rank
People counted
288
288 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
39.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amaal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amaal is Black at 39.9%. The next largest groups are White (37.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Amaal described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Amaal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American39.9% · 115
- White37.8% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.5% · 36
- Two or more races6.6% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Amaal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amaal from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 77 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amaal 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 Amaal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Amaal
The name Amaal has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, with its roots tracing back to the Middle East and the Islamic world. The name is derived from the Arabic word "amal," which means "hope" or "aspiration." This name carries a profound meaning, symbolizing the hopes and dreams that parents have for their children.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Amaal can be found in ancient Arabic literature and poetry. The name has been used by various poets and writers throughout history to express their longing for a better future or to convey a sense of optimism in the face of adversity.
Historically, the name Amaal has been associated with notable figures who have left their mark on various fields. One such individual was Amaal Bouchoucha (1922-2021), a Tunisian singer and actress renowned for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of Tunisian cultural heritage. Her melodious voice and captivating performances earned her widespread acclaim across the Arab world.
Another notable figure bearing the name Amaal was Amaal Mallik (1935-2019), an Indian singer, and actress who achieved immense popularity in the South Indian film industry. Her powerful vocals and versatility in various genres made her a beloved figure in the world of Indian cinema.
In the realm of literature, Amaal Nur (1959-2022) was a prominent Somali writer and poet whose works explored themes of identity, displacement, and resilience. Her poetry collection, "Saar: A Modern Anthology of Somali Poetry," gained critical acclaim and shed light on the richness of Somali literature.
The name Amaal has also been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions to the fields of education and social activism. Amaal Bhatnagar (1943-2018) was an Indian educator and social worker who dedicated her life to empowering underprivileged communities through education and vocational training initiatives.
Amaal Alnahlawi (1936-2021) was a prominent Syrian women's rights activist who tirelessly advocated for gender equality and women's empowerment in the Arab world. Her efforts to challenge patriarchal norms and promote women's rights have left a lasting impact on the region.
While these are just a few examples, the name Amaal has been borne by many individuals throughout history, each leaving their unique mark and embodying the essence of hope and aspiration that the name represents.
People
Amaal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amaal 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
Amaal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amaal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 195 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amaal 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 1,757,715 US residents.
Is Amaal a common name?
We classify Amaal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 197 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amaal most popular?
The single biggest year for Amaal was 2021, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amaal is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Amaal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 288 people with the name Amaal, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,313 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Amaal in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Amaal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amaal leans strongly female. 275 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 9 male bearers (3.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Amaal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amaal is Black at 39.9%. The next largest groups are White (37.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Amaal most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Amaal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.9% (115 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Amaal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Amaal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Amaal 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 Amaal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Amaal 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 Amaal 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.
How common is the name Amaal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.