Jakeem
An Arabic name meaning "precious" or "wise leader".
Name Census estimates that about 1,126 living Americans carry the first name Jakeem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jakeem today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jakeem births was 2002 (59 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jakeem. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 304,400 Americans
Peak year
2002
59 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,545
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Jakeem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jakeem from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 363 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Jakeem remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jakeem 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 Jakeem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jakeems live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Jakeem, while New York, Louisiana, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jakeem
The name Jakeem has its origins rooted in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "Karim," which means "noble" or "generous." The name is believed to have been in use since the 7th century, during the rise of Islam and the spread of Arabic influence across the Middle East and North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jakeem can be found in the writings of the renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher, Al-Ghazali, who lived from 1058 to 1111 CE. He mentioned a man named Jakeem in one of his works, describing him as a wise and learned individual.
In the 12th century, there was a prominent Arab poet named Jakeem Al-Andalusi, who hailed from the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal). His works were widely celebrated and helped to popularize the name among the Arab community of that time.
The name Jakeem also appears in several historical records from the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over parts of the Middle East and Eastern Europe from the 14th to the early 20th century. One notable figure was Jakeem Pasha, a high-ranking Ottoman official who served as the governor of Damascus in the late 16th century.
During the 19th century, a man named Jakeem Al-Bahrani made significant contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence and is remembered as a revered scholar in the Shia Islamic tradition. He was born in Bahrain in 1819 and passed away in 1891.
Another individual of note was Jakeem Abdul-Qadir, an Iraqi religious leader and political figure who played a prominent role in the Iraqi Revolt against the British occupation in the early 20th century. He was born in 1879 and was executed by the British authorities in 1924.
It is important to note that while the name Jakeem has deep roots in the Arabic-speaking world, it has also gained popularity in various other cultures and communities around the globe, reflecting the rich diversity and cross-cultural exchange that has shaped human societies throughout history.
People
Jakeem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jakeem 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
Jakeem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jakeem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,126 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jakeem 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 304,400 US residents.
Is Jakeem a common name?
We classify Jakeem as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jakeem most popular?
The single biggest year for Jakeem was 2002, when 59 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jakeem is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jakeem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jakeem 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.
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.