Emeal
A masculine name of undetermined origin, variously interpreted as "successor" or "hard worker".
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Emeal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Emeal today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emeal births was 1960 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emeal. 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 Emeal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
1960
8 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1961 SSA rank
#3,455
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Emeal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Emeal from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 15 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
Emeal 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 Emeal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Emeals live
Origin
Meaning and history of Emeal
The given name Emeal is a relatively uncommon moniker with roots that can be traced back to the ancient Hebrew language. Its origins date back to around the 8th century BCE, during the time of the biblical Kingdom of Judah. The name is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word "em'ael," which translates to "God's people" or "God's strength."
This name finds its earliest recorded mention in the Book of Ezra, a part of the Hebrew Bible. Ezra, a scribe and priest of the ancient Israelites, is said to have led a group of exiles from Babylon back to Jerusalem in the 5th century BCE. Among those mentioned in his accounts is a man named Emeal, though little is known about this individual beyond his name.
Throughout the centuries, the name Emeal has been borne by a handful of notable figures. One of the earliest was Emeal ben Shlomo, a renowned Jewish scholar from the 11th century CE who made significant contributions to the study of the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism.
Another prominent bearer of this name was Emeal al-Qudsi, a 12th-century Arab philosopher and mystic from Damascus. He was known for his work on Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam, and his teachings on the unity of existence.
In the 14th century, Emeal de Beaugency, a French architect and engineer, gained recognition for his role in the construction of several notable Gothic cathedrals, including the Cathedral of Reims and the Basilica of Saint-Denis.
Fast-forwarding to the 16th century, Emeal ibn al-Khayat was a renowned Ottoman calligrapher and poet from Istanbul. His intricate calligraphic works adorned numerous mosques and palaces throughout the Ottoman Empire.
In more recent times, Emeal Fattah was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States from 1972 to 1973. He played a crucial role in mediating conflicts and promoting unity among Arab nations during a tumultuous period in the region's history.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples illustrate the enduring presence of the name Emeal across various cultures, religions, and historical periods, each bearer leaving their mark on the annals of history in their own unique way.
People
Emeal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emeal as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Emeal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emeal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emeal 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 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Emeal a common name?
We classify Emeal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emeal most popular?
The single biggest year for Emeal was 1960, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emeal is about 64 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 Emeal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Emeal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Emeal in the SSA data are male. 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 Emeal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Emeal 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 Emeal 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 called Emeal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.