Jabier
A masculine name of Basque origin meaning "wealthy one".
Name Census estimates that about 308 living Americans carry the first name Jabier. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jabier today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jabier births was 1989 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jabier. 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.
People living today
308
~ 1 in 1,112,839 Americans
Peak year
1989
13 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2010 SSA rank
#13,028
Tracked since 1949
Census
Jabier in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 424 people with the first name Jabier, which placed it at #23,170 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
#23,170
National first-name rank
People counted
424
424 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
95.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jabier
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jabier is Hispanic at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Black (1.4%). 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 Jabier 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 Jabier at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.3% · 404
- White2.8% · 12
- Black or African American1.4% · 6
- Two or more races0.5% · 2
Popularity
Jabier: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jabier from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 80 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jabier 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 Jabier during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jabiers live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jabier
The given name Jabier originates from the Basque language spoken in the Basque Country, a region straddling the border between Spain and France. The name is a Basque variant of the Hebrew name Jacob, derived from the Biblical figure Jacob, also known as Ya'aqov, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows."
Jabier is closely related to other variations of the name Jacob found across Europe, such as Jacques in French, Jaime in Spanish, and James in English. These names share a common root in the Hebrew name Ya'aqov, which has been adapted and transformed through various cultural and linguistic influences over the centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jabier can be traced back to the 9th century, when it appeared in Basque historical records. During this time, the Basque Country was a region with a strong cultural identity and a distinct language, which helped preserve and maintain the use of traditional Basque names like Jabier.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Jabier. One of the most prominent was Jabier Munibe (1672-1748), a Basque writer, scientist, and philosopher who made significant contributions to the fields of natural history and linguistics. Another notable individual was Jabier Zubiri (1644-1720), a Basque theologian and philosopher who wrote extensively on metaphysics and ethics.
In the 20th century, Jabier Elío (1920-1991) was a renowned Basque politician and activist who played a crucial role in the defense of Basque cultural and linguistic rights during the Franco regime in Spain. Jabier Muguruza (1935-2012) was a celebrated Basque architect known for his innovative designs and contributions to the field of urban planning.
Another notable figure was Jabier Olano (born 1966), a former professional cyclist from Spain who won several prestigious races, including stages in the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. His sporting achievements brought recognition to the name Jabier on an international stage.
The name Jabier continues to be widely used in the Basque Country and among Basque communities around the world, reflecting the enduring cultural heritage and linguistic traditions of the region.
People
Jabier + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jabier 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
Jabier: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jabier?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 308 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jabier 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 1,112,839 US residents.
Is Jabier a common name?
We classify Jabier as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 336 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jabier most popular?
The single biggest year for Jabier was 1989, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jabier is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jabier in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 424 people with the name Jabier, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,170 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 Jabier 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 Jabier?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jabier appears almost entirely male. Of the 430 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Jabier?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jabier is Hispanic at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Black (1.4%). 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 Jabier most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jabier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (404 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 Jabier in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jabier a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jabier 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 Jabier still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jabier 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 Jabier 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 Americans are named Jabier?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Jabier at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.