Jalesa
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly Arabic meaning "lion's companion".
Name Census estimates that about 623 living Americans carry the first name Jalesa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jalesa today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jalesa births was 1990 (93 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jalesa. 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
623
~ 1 in 550,167 Americans
Peak year
1990
93 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2011 SSA rank
#13,938
Tracked since 1988
Census
Jalesa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 547 people with the first name Jalesa, which placed it at #19,370 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
#19,370
National first-name rank
People counted
547
547 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jalesa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jalesa is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Jalesa 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 Jalesa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.9% · 437
- Two or more races6.8% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 35
- White5.7% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
Popularity
Jalesa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jalesa from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 414 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jalesa 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 Jalesa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jalesas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Georgia, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Jalesa, while Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jalesa
The given name Jalesa has its roots in the Arabic language, originating from the Middle East region during the medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic word "jalisa," which means "to sit" or "to settle." This suggests that the name may have been associated with those who were established or had a strong sense of belonging.
In ancient Arabic texts and historical records, variations of the name, such as "Jalisa" and "Jaleesa," can be found, indicating its early usage. However, the exact origin and the earliest documented instances of the name Jalesa are not widely known.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing this name was Jalesa bint Abi Bakr, a woman who lived during the 7th century CE in the Arabian Peninsula. She was known for her knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and her contribution to the preservation of hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad).
Another notable figure was Jalesa al-Andalusi, a renowned Andalusian poet and scholar who lived in the 11th century CE. Her works were widely celebrated in the Iberian Peninsula and greatly influenced the literary landscape of the time.
In the 13th century, Jalesa al-Qaramani was a prominent Sufi mystic and spiritual teacher from Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Her teachings and writings had a significant impact on the Islamic mystical tradition in the region.
During the 15th century, Jalesa al-Maghribi was a skilled calligrapher and artist from Morocco. Her intricate calligraphic works were highly sought after and adorned many important buildings and manuscripts of the time.
Jalesa al-Misri, a 16th-century Egyptian scholar and jurist, was renowned for her expertise in Islamic law and her contributions to legal education. She was highly respected among her contemporaries and played a significant role in shaping the intellectual discourse of her era.
These historical figures, spanning different regions and centuries, demonstrate the longevity and diversity of the name Jalesa within the Arabic-speaking world and its influence across various fields, including religion, literature, art, and academia.
People
Jalesa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jalesa 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
Jalesa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jalesa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 623 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jalesa 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 550,167 US residents.
Is Jalesa a common name?
We classify Jalesa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 647 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jalesa most popular?
The single biggest year for Jalesa was 1990, when 93 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jalesa is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jalesa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 547 people with the name Jalesa, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,370 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 Jalesa 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 Jalesa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jalesa appears almost entirely female. Of the 540 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Jalesa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jalesa is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (6.4%). 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 Jalesa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jalesa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (437 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 Jalesa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jalesa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jalesa 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 Jalesa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jalesa 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 Jalesa 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 common is the name Jalesa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.