Jalem
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "one with beauty or handsome".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Jalem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jalem today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jalem births was 2000 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jalem. 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 Jalem. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2000
5 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2000 SSA rank
#11,106
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Jalem: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Jalem 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 Jalem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Jalem
The name Jalem is believed to have originated from the ancient Aramaic language, which was widely spoken in the Middle East during the first millennium BC. It is derived from the root word "yalem," which means "eternal" or "everlasting." The name is thought to have been popularized in the region around modern-day Syria and Lebanon.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Jalem can be found in the Babylonian Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is referenced as the name of a sage who lived in the 3rd century CE. This suggests that the name was in use among Jewish communities in the region during that time period.
In the 7th century CE, a notable figure named Jalem ibn Maslamah is mentioned in historical records as a prominent military leader and governor under the Umayyad Caliphate. He played a significant role in the Arab conquest of Central Asia and the expansion of Islamic rule in the region.
During the Middle Ages, the name Jalem appears to have been used across various cultures and religions in the Middle East. One notable bearer of the name was Jalem al-Din al-Suyuti, a renowned Islamic scholar and polymath who lived in Egypt from 1445 to 1505. He made significant contributions to the fields of Quranic exegesis, hadith studies, and Arabic literature.
In the 16th century, a Jewish philosopher and scholar named Jalem Delmedigo gained prominence for his work in the field of Aristotelian philosophy and his advocacy for the reconciliation of science and religion. He was born in Crete in 1463 and traveled extensively, eventually settling in Poland, where he died in 1497.
Another notable figure with the name Jalem was Jalem ibn Yahya, an Arab mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 9th century CE. He made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and is credited with introducing the concept of sine and cosine functions in their modern form.
Throughout history, the name Jalem has been relatively uncommon, but it has been found in various cultures and regions, particularly those influenced by the ancient Aramaic language and the spread of Islamic civilization. While its usage may have waxed and waned over time, the name has maintained a sense of endurance and timelessness, reflecting its etymological roots.
People
Jalem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jalem 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
Jalem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jalem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jalem 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Jalem a common name?
We classify Jalem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jalem most popular?
The single biggest year for Jalem was 2000, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jalem is about 26 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 Jalem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jalem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jalem 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 Jalem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jalem 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 Jalem 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 the name Jalem?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Jalem, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.