Jakela
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Jakela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jakela today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jakela births was 2000 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jakela. 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 Jakela. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
2000
10 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2008 SSA rank
#18,670
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Jakela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jakela from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 29 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Jakela remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jakela 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 Jakela 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 Jakela
The name Jakela has its origins in the Swahili language, which is spoken primarily in East Africa. It is derived from the Swahili word "jakela," which means "to bring" or "to deliver." The name is believed to have originated among the Bantu peoples of the Great Lakes region of Africa, possibly as early as the 15th or 16th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jakela can be found in a collection of Swahili proverbs and sayings from the 19th century. The name is mentioned in a proverb that roughly translates to "Jakela brings prosperity to the household."
In terms of historical references, there are no known mentions of the name Jakela in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, it is possible that the name was used informally among the Swahili-speaking communities of East Africa long before it was recorded in written form.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Jakela was a Tanzanian woman named Jakela Mwalimu, who lived in the late 19th century and was renowned for her skills as a midwife and traditional healer. Another notable figure was Jakela Mbembe, a Congolese writer and activist who played a significant role in the fight for independence from Belgian colonial rule in the 1950s.
In the 20th century, the name gained some popularity outside of Africa, particularly in the United States. Jakela Jones, an American jazz singer and songwriter, was born in 1927 and enjoyed a successful career spanning several decades. Jakela Pruitt, born in 1958, was an influential figure in the civil rights movement and served as a community organizer in Chicago.
More recently, Jakela Rasheed, born in 1985, is a Kenyan-American fashion designer and entrepreneur who has gained recognition for her sustainable and ethical clothing line. Her unique designs have been featured in various fashion magazines and runway shows.
People
Jakela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jakela 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
Jakela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jakela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jakela 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 6,591,430 US residents.
Is Jakela a common name?
We classify Jakela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 54 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jakela most popular?
The single biggest year for Jakela was 2000, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jakela is about 31 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 Jakela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jakela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jakela 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 Jakela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jakela 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 Jakela 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 Americans are named Jakela?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.