Jamah
Of Arabic origin, denoting a group or spiritual community.
Name Census estimates that about 35 living Americans carry the first name Jamah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jamah today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jamah births was 1976 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jamah. 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 Jamah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
35
~ 1 in 9,792,981 Americans
Peak year
1976
9 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1983 SSA rank
#5,785
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Jamah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jamah from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 22 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Jamah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jamah 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 Jamah 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 Jamah
The given name Jamah traces its origins to ancient Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages known to humanity. Its roots can be found in the Sanskrit word "jama," which translates to "twin" or "pair." This name was particularly prevalent in regions where Hinduism and Buddhism flourished, such as the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jamah can be found in the Mahabharata, a revered Sanskrit epic dating back to the 8th or 9th century BCE. In this ancient text, Jamah is mentioned as the twin brother of Upamah, two warriors who fought bravely in the great war depicted in the epic.
As Hinduism and Buddhism spread across Asia, the name Jamah gained prominence in various cultures. In the 5th century CE, a Buddhist monk named Jamah Sagarananda was renowned for his wisdom and teachings, which were documented in several manuscripts of the time.
During the medieval period, the name Jamah was particularly popular among the ruling classes of the Indian subcontinent. One notable figure was Jamah al-Din Muhammad, a 13th-century sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, who reigned from 1266 to 1287 CE. His rule was marked by significant architectural achievements, including the construction of the Qutb Minar, one of the tallest minarets in the world.
In the realm of literature, Jamah Gara was a celebrated Persian poet who lived in the 15th century CE. His works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, were widely acclaimed and continue to be studied by scholars to this day.
Another notable bearer of the name was Jamah Khan, a 16th-century military commander in the Mughal Empire. He played a pivotal role in the expansion of the empire under the reign of Akbar the Great and was known for his strategic brilliance and unwavering loyalty.
These are just a few examples of the rich history and cultural significance associated with the given name Jamah. While its usage may have evolved over time, the name continues to carry echoes of its ancient Sanskrit roots, serving as a timeless connection to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Jamah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jamah 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
Jamah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jamah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 35 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jamah 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 9,792,981 US residents.
Is Jamah a common name?
We classify Jamah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jamah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jamah was 1976, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jamah is about 46 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 Jamah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jamah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jamah 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 Jamah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jamah 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 Jamah 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 Jamah?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Jamah, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.