Amal
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "hope" or "aspiration."
Name Census estimates that about 4,225 living Americans carry the first name Amal. It is a predominantly female name (91.8% of registrations). The average person named Amal today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amal births was 2021 (247 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amal. 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 Amal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.2K
~ 1 in 81,125 Americans
Peak year
2021
247 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,227
Tracked since 1962
Census
Amal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,012 people with the first name Amal, which placed it at #2,632 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
#2,632
National first-name rank
People counted
9.0K
9,012 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amal is White at 66.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.9%). 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 Amal 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 Amal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.3% · 5,976
- Black or African American15.4% · 1,385
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.9% · 1,073
- Two or more races4.6% · 418
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 157
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Amal
Amal leans heavily female at 91.8% of total registrations, but 355 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Amal as a male name
- Ranked #8,323 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2002 (16 births)
Amal as a female name
- Ranked #1,227 in 2024
- 191 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (241 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amal leans strongly female. 8,330 people counted with this name were female (92.4%), compared with 685 male bearers (7.6%).
Popularity
Amal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amal from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,208 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
Amal 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 Amal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Amals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Amal, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 123 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Amal
The name Amal has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, with a history dating back to ancient times. Derived from the Arabic word 'amal,' meaning 'hope' or 'aspiration,' the name carries a profound significance in the Islamic faith and tradition.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Amal can be found in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. In Surah Al-Ra'd (Chapter 13, Verse 12), the word 'amal' is used to symbolize the hope and faith that believers place in Allah.
Throughout the centuries, the name Amal has been borne by several notable historical figures. One of the earliest examples is Amal al-Ahwazi, a renowned Arab mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 8th century CE. His contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy were significant, and he is remembered for his work on the development of algebraic concepts.
Another prominent figure with the name Amal was Amal al-Din al-Kazruni, a 13th-century Persian poet and philosopher. His poetry, infused with Sufi mysticism, explored the themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition. His works, such as the Diwan, have been celebrated for their literary excellence and philosophical depth.
In more recent history, Amal Clooney (née Alamuddin), a Lebanese-British human rights lawyer and activist, has gained global recognition. Born in 1978, she has been a vocal advocate for human rights and has represented several high-profile cases before various international courts and tribunals.
Amal Jalal Uddin, a renowned Bangladeshi artist and painter, also bore the name Amal. Born in 1935, he was celebrated for his vibrant and expressive works that captured the essence of rural life and the struggles of the common people. His paintings have been exhibited worldwide and are considered a significant contribution to the art scene in Bangladesh.
Another notable figure with the name Amal is Amal Alamuddin Basha, a Palestinian-Lebanese writer and journalist. Born in 1942, she has been a prominent voice for Palestinian rights and has authored several books and articles on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, shedding light on the experiences and struggles of her people.
The name Amal has transcended cultural and geographic boundaries, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and walks of life. While its origins can be traced back to the Arabic language and Islamic tradition, the name has acquired a universal appeal, symbolizing hope, aspiration, and the human spirit's resilience.
People
Amal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amal 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
Amal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,225 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amal 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 81,125 US residents.
Is Amal a common name?
We classify Amal as "Rare". It ranks above 96.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,313 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amal most popular?
The single biggest year for Amal was 2021, when 247 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amal is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Amal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,012 people with the name Amal, or 2.98 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,632 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 Amal 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 Amal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amal leans strongly female. 8,330 people counted with this name were female (92.4%), compared with 685 male bearers (7.6%). 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 Amal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amal is White at 66.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.9%). 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 Amal most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Amal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.3% (5,976 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 Amal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Amal a female name?
Yes, 91.8% of people registered as Amal 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 Amal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Amal 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 Amal 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 many people have the name Amal?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Amal, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.