Jakare
A masculine Brazilian name meaning "alligator" or "crocodile".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Jakare. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jakare today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jakare births was 2006 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jakare. 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 Jakare. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2006
5 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2011 SSA rank
#13,109
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Jakare: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jakare from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 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
Jakare 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 Jakare 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 Jakare
The name Jakare has its origins in the indigenous languages of South America, particularly in the region that is now Brazil. It is believed to be derived from the Tupi-Guarani language family, which was widely spoken by many tribes in the region before the arrival of European colonizers.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Jakare can be found in the writings of the Portuguese explorer and chronicler Pero Vaz de Caminha, who accompanied the fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral on the voyage that first made landfall in Brazil in 1500. In his letters, Caminha described encountering indigenous people who referred to a large reptile, now known as the caiman, using a word that sounded like "Jakare."
The name is thought to be related to the Tupi-Guarani word "jakare," which means "crocodile" or "caiman." These large reptiles were revered by many indigenous tribes in the region and were often depicted in their art and mythology. As such, the name Jakare may have been given to individuals who were seen as possessing strength, courage, or a connection to these powerful animals.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jakare was a chief of the Tupinambá tribe, who lived in the coastal region of what is now Brazil in the 16th century. This chief was mentioned in the accounts of French and Portuguese explorers and colonizers who interacted with his tribe during that time.
In the 17th century, a famous warrior and leader of the Tamoio Confederation, which united several indigenous tribes against the Portuguese colonizers, was known as Jakare-Ty. He played a significant role in the resistance against the Portuguese and was eventually killed in battle around 1630.
Another notable figure with the name Jakare was a Brazilian painter and sculptor who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 1865, Jakare de Souza was known for his depictions of indigenous people and their traditions, as well as for his contributions to the Brazilian Modernist movement in art.
In the realm of literature, a character named Jakare appears in the novel "Quarup" by the Brazilian writer Antônio Callado, published in 1967. This character is an indigenous man who plays a significant role in the story's exploration of cultural identity and the clash between traditional and modern values in Brazil.
Despite its ancient origins, the name Jakare has remained in use throughout the centuries, carrying with it a connection to the rich cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of South America and their reverence for the natural world.
People
Jakare + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jakare 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
Jakare: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jakare?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jakare 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Jakare a common name?
We classify Jakare as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jakare most popular?
The single biggest year for Jakare was 2006, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jakare is about 17 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 Jakare in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jakare a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jakare 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 Jakare still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jakare 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 Jakare 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 Jakare as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.