Jamahl
A masculine name derived from the Arabic word for beauty.
Name Census estimates that about 706 living Americans carry the first name Jamahl. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jamahl today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jamahl births was 1988 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jamahl. 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
706
~ 1 in 485,488 Americans
Peak year
1988
26 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2020 SSA rank
#9,979
Tracked since 1969
Popularity
Jamahl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jamahl from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 200 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jamahl 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 Jamahl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jamahls live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jamahl
The name Jamahl has its origins in Arabic and is a variation of the name Jamal, which means "beauty" or "camel" in Arabic. The name is derived from the Arabic root word "jamal," which is related to physical beauty or attractiveness.
The name Jamahl first emerged in the Middle East and North Africa during the early days of Islam, around the 7th century AD. It was commonly used among Arab populations and gradually spread to other regions as Islam expanded.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jamahl can be found in the classic Arabic literature "One Thousand and One Nights," also known as "The Arabian Nights." In this collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, there is a character named Jamahl al-Sayah, a merchant who embarks on a journey and encounters various adventures.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Jamahl. One of the most famous was Jamahl al-Din al-Afghani (1838-1897), an Islamic philosopher and political activist who played a significant role in the late 19th-century Islamic revival movement.
Another prominent Jamahl was Jamahl Molineaux (1886-1918), an African American boxer and actor who gained fame in the early 20th century. He was one of the first Black actors to achieve success in Hollywood during the silent film era.
In the realm of music, Jamahl Farah (born 1946) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and composer of Lebanese descent. He is best known for representing Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972.
Jamahl Rasheed (born 1964) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA for several teams, including the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic, during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Jamahl Simmons (born 1974) is a Bermudian politician and the current Minister of Home Affairs in the government of Bermuda. He has been actively involved in Bermudian politics since the early 2000s.
While the name Jamahl is not as common as some other Arabic names, it has a rich history and cultural significance, reflecting the beauty and heritage of the Arabic language and Islamic traditions.
People
Jamahl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jamahl 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
Jamahl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jamahl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 706 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jamahl 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 485,488 US residents.
Is Jamahl a common name?
We classify Jamahl as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 734 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jamahl most popular?
The single biggest year for Jamahl was 1988, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jamahl is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jamahl a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jamahl 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.