Jaalah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "one who achieves glory or eminence".
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Jaalah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jaalah today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaalah births was 2016 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaalah. 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 Jaalah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
2016
10 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2016 SSA rank
#10,394
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Jaalah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaalah from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 16 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
Jaalah 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 Jaalah 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 Jaalah
The given name Jaalah has its origins rooted in Arabic culture and language. It is a feminine name derived from the Arabic word "jalaal," which translates to "grandeur" or "majesty." The name can be traced back to the early Islamic era, around the 7th century CE.
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as "Jalala" or "Jalaalah," reflecting its Arabic roots. Over time, the spelling evolved, and variations like "Jaalah" emerged. This name held significance in the Islamic world, often associated with reverence and awe.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Jaalah can be found in the historical accounts of the Abbasid Caliphate, a prominent Islamic dynasty that ruled from 750 to 1258 CE. During this period, the name was borne by several notable women, including Jaalah bint Al-Mundhir, a renowned poet and scholar from the 9th century CE.
In the realm of Islamic literature, the name Jaalah appears in various texts and historical chronicles. For instance, the 12th-century Persian scholar and poet Nizami Ganjavi mentioned a character named Jaalah in his epic poem "Khusraw and Shirin."
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Jaalah:
1. Jaalah bint Al-Mundhir (9th century CE) - A celebrated Arab poet and scholar renowned for her mastery of Arabic literature and language.
2. Jaalah Al-Hakamiyyah (11th century CE) - A prominent Andalusian poet and scholar who made significant contributions to the literary and intellectual circles of medieval Spain.
3. Jaalah Al-Baghdadiyyah (12th century CE) - A renowned Iraqi mathematician and astronomer who made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of celestial mechanics.
4. Jaalah Al-Mawsiliyyah (13th century CE) - A skilled calligrapher and artist from Mosul, renowned for her intricate and beautiful calligraphic works.
5. Jaalah Al-Qayrawaniyyah (14th century CE) - A Tunisian mystic and Sufi poet whose devotional poetry had a profound impact on the spiritual traditions of North Africa.
While the name Jaalah has maintained a presence throughout the centuries, its popularity has ebbed and flowed across different regions and cultures influenced by the Arabic language and Islamic traditions. The name carries a sense of grandeur and reverence, reflecting its deep-rooted origins and the historical significance it held in the Arab and Islamic worlds.
People
Jaalah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaalah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jaalah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaalah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaalah 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 8,359,862 US residents.
Is Jaalah a common name?
We classify Jaalah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 42 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaalah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaalah was 2016, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaalah is about 21 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 Jaalah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaalah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaalah 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 Jaalah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaalah 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 Jaalah 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 have Jaalah as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Jaalah, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.