Jailah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful woman".
Name Census estimates that about 1,220 living Americans carry the first name Jailah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jailah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jailah births was 2011 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jailah. 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
- • Jailah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 280,946 Americans
Peak year
2011
72 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,338
Tracked since 1995
Census
Jailah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 844 people with the first name Jailah, which placed it at #14,072 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
#14,072
National first-name rank
People counted
844
844 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jailah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jailah is Black at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.2%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Jailah 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 Jailah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.1% · 625
- Hispanic or Latino14.2% · 120
- Two or more races6.9% · 58
- White3.8% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 2
Popularity
Jailah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jailah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 518 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jailah 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 Jailah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jailahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Texas, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Jailah, while New York, Maryland, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jailah
The name Jailah is a beautiful and unique name with roots in various cultures and languages. Its origins can be traced back to Arabic, where it is derived from the word "jala," meaning "glory" or "splendor." In this sense, the name Jailah carries a powerful meaning associated with radiance, beauty, and majesty.
Another possible origin of the name Jailah is from the Hebrew language, where it is believed to be a variation of the name "Jalah," meaning "to ascend" or "to rise up." This connection suggests a spiritual connotation, signifying elevation, growth, and transcendence.
While the name Jailah is not widely documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been recorded throughout history in various cultures and regions. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the medieval Islamic world, where it was used as a feminine name, often bestowed upon daughters born into noble or influential families.
Among the notable historical figures who bore the name Jailah is Jailah Al-Andalusiyyah, a renowned 12th-century poet and scholar from Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain). Her works were celebrated for their depth and elegance, and she was widely regarded as a pioneer in the field of Andalusian poetry.
Another prominent figure was Jailah bint Abi Nasr, a 10th-century Arab mathematician and astronomer from Baghdad. She made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and is credited with writing one of the earliest known works on the subject.
In the 14th century, Jailah Al-Qurtubiyyah, a skilled calligrapher and illuminator from Cordoba, Spain, gained recognition for her exquisite works adorning manuscripts and religious texts. Her intricate and beautiful calligraphy was highly sought after by patrons and collectors alike.
Moving forward in time, Jailah Al-Khawajah was a 17th-century Ottoman courtier and poet who served under Sultan Murad IV. Her poetry, often revolving around themes of love and longing, was widely admired and preserved in various literary anthologies of the era.
Lastly, in the 19th century, Jailah Al-Shushtari was a Persian poet and mystic known for her spiritual and mystical verses. Her works explored the depths of the human experience and the pursuit of divine knowledge, earning her a place among the revered poets of her time.
While these are just a few examples, the name Jailah has been carried by numerous individuals throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage.
People
Jailah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jailah 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
Jailah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jailah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,220 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jailah 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 280,946 US residents.
Is Jailah a common name?
We classify Jailah as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jailah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jailah was 2011, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jailah is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jailah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 844 people with the name Jailah, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,072 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 Jailah 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 Jailah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jailah appears almost entirely female. Of the 843 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Jailah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jailah is Black at 74.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.2%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Jailah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jailah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.1% (625 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 Jailah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jailah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jailah 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 Jailah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jailah 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 Jailah 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 Jailah?
You can see how many Americans are named Jailah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.