Jaeli
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly derived from Gael.
Name Census estimates that about 281 living Americans carry the first name Jaeli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jaeli today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaeli births was 2008 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaeli. 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
281
~ 1 in 1,219,766 Americans
Peak year
2008
22 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,036
Tracked since 2000
Census
Jaeli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 200 people with the first name Jaeli, which placed it at #38,397 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
#38,397
National first-name rank
People counted
200
200 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
35.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jaeli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaeli is Hispanic at 35.5%. The next largest groups are White (35.0%) and Black (15.0%). 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 Jaeli 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 Jaeli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino35.5% · 71
- White35.0% · 70
- Black or African American15.0% · 30
- Two or more races11.5% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Jaeli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaeli from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 123 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Jaeli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jaeli 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 Jaeli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jaelis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jaeli
The name Jaeli is believed to have originated from the ancient Celtic language spoken in the British Isles and parts of continental Europe. The earliest known roots of the name can be traced back to the 5th century AD, when it was likely derived from the Gaelic words "gael" meaning "foreigner" or "stranger" and the Latin suffix "-ia" which was commonly used to form feminine names.
In medieval times, the name Jaeli was occasionally mentioned in old Irish folklore and legends, although specific details about its usage during this period are scarce. It is possible that the name held some significance in Celtic mythology, but concrete historical references are limited.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jaeli can be found in a 12th-century manuscript from a Welsh monastery, where it was used to refer to a young woman who was believed to have been a member of the local nobility. However, further details about her life and background remain obscure.
Throughout the centuries, the name Jaeli has been borne by several notable individuals, although it has never achieved widespread popularity. In the 16th century, Jaeli de Montfort (1532-1598) was a French noblewoman and poet known for her romantic verses and sonnets. During the same period, Jaeli O'Flaherty (1545-1621) was an Irish chieftain and military leader who played a prominent role in the Nine Years' War against English rule.
Moving forward to the 18th century, Jaeli Beaumont (1711-1779) was a renowned English botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the British Isles. Another notable figure was Jaeli MacKenzie (1789-1867), a Scottish explorer and adventurer who traveled extensively through the Canadian wilderness and documented her experiences in a series of popular travelogues.
In more recent times, Jaeli Aaronson (1901-1988) was a Danish artist and sculptor whose work was heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau movement. She gained international recognition for her intricate sculptures depicting mythological figures and scenes from Norse folklore.
While the name Jaeli has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a unique and distinctive quality that has appealed to some families and individuals seeking a name with Celtic or Gaelic roots. Its enduring presence, though limited, serves as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage and linguistic diversity of the British Isles and continental Europe.
People
Jaeli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaeli 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
Jaeli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaeli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 281 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaeli 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 1,219,766 US residents.
Is Jaeli a common name?
We classify Jaeli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 284 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaeli most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaeli was 2008, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaeli is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jaeli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 200 people with the name Jaeli, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,397 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 Jaeli 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 Jaeli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jaeli leans strongly female. 196 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.0%). 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 Jaeli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaeli is Hispanic at 35.5%. The next largest groups are White (35.0%) and Black (15.0%). 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 Jaeli most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jaeli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.5% (71 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 Jaeli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaeli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaeli 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 Jaeli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaeli 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 Jaeli 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 Jaeli?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Jaeli at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.