Jahara
A feminine Arabic name meaning "stream" or "clear water".
Name Census estimates that about 258 living Americans carry the first name Jahara. It is a predominantly female name (98.1% of registrations). The average person named Jahara today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jahara births was 2018 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jahara. 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
258
~ 1 in 1,328,505 Americans
Peak year
2018
17 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
1980 SSA rank
#6,662
Tracked since 1980
Census
Jahara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 291 people with the first name Jahara, which placed it at #30,113 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
#30,113
National first-name rank
People counted
291
291 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
64.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jahara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jahara is Black at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.8%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Jahara 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 Jahara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American64.6% · 188
- Hispanic or Latino14.8% · 43
- Two or more races7.9% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.6% · 22
- White5.2% · 15
Gender
Gender distribution for Jahara
Jahara leans heavily female at 98.1% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jahara as a male name
- Ranked #6,662 in 1980
- 5 male births in 1980
- Peak: 1980 (5 births)
Jahara as a female name
- Ranked #11,483 in 2024
- 8 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (17 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jahara leans strongly female. 260 people counted with this name were female (90.0%), compared with 29 male bearers (10.0%).
Popularity
Jahara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jahara from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 95 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jahara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jahara 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 Jahara 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 Jahara
The name Jahara is believed to have originated from the Arabic language. Its roots can be traced back to the Middle East and North Africa, regions with a rich cultural heritage and a long history of influential civilizations.
In Arabic, the name Jahara is derived from the word "jahir," which means "loud" or "resonant." This linguistic connection suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals with a powerful voice or presence. Alternatively, it could also be linked to the Arabic word "jahar," meaning "to manifest" or "to reveal," implying a sense of openness or clarity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jahara can be found in ancient Arabic texts dating back to the 8th century CE. During this period, the name was associated with scholars, poets, and other prominent figures in the Islamic world.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jahara. One such figure was Jahara al-Andalusi, a renowned 10th-century poet and scholar from the Iberian Peninsula. Her collection of poetry, known as the "Diwan of Jahara al-Andalusi," has been preserved and studied by literary scholars for centuries.
Another significant bearer of the name was Jahara bint al-Husayn, a 12th-century princess from the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of educational institutions, establishing several schools and libraries during her lifetime.
In the 14th century, Jahara al-Qurashi was a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from Damascus. Her writings on Islamic law and theology were widely respected and influential in her time.
Moving forward in time, Jahara bint Ali al-Hashimi was a 17th-century poet and scholar from the Arabian Peninsula. Her work focused on celebrating the beauty of the Arabic language and promoting the preservation of cultural traditions.
Lastly, Jahara al-Baghdadi was a 19th-century educator and reformer from Iraq. She dedicated her life to advocating for women's education and played a crucial role in establishing some of the first schools for girls in the region.
While these are just a few examples, the name Jahara has been carried by many influential individuals throughout history, reflecting its deep roots in the Arabic-speaking world and its association with scholarship, creativity, and cultural significance.
People
Jahara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jahara 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
Jahara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jahara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 258 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jahara 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 1,328,505 US residents.
Is Jahara a common name?
We classify Jahara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 262 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jahara most popular?
The single biggest year for Jahara was 2018, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jahara is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jahara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 291 people with the name Jahara, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,113 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 Jahara 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 Jahara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jahara leans strongly female. 260 people counted with this name were female (90.0%), compared with 29 male bearers (10.0%). 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 Jahara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jahara is Black at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.8%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Jahara most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jahara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.6% (188 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 Jahara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jahara a female name?
Yes, 98.1% of people registered as Jahara 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 Jahara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jahara 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 Jahara 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 are called Jahara?
You can see how many people share the name Jahara on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.