Jamare
A modern, African American name of uncertain meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 464 living Americans carry the first name Jamare. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jamare today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jamare births was 2010 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jamare. 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
464
~ 1 in 738,695 Americans
Peak year
2010
32 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,138
Tracked since 1975
Census
Jamare in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 359 people with the first name Jamare, which placed it at #26,116 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
#26,116
National first-name rank
People counted
359
359 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jamare
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamare is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Jamare 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 Jamare at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.4% · 310
- Two or more races6.1% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 18
- White1.1% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Jamare: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jamare from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 205 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jamare 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 Jamare during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jamares live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, Virginia recorded the most babies named Jamare, while Virginia, Georgia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jamare
The name Jamare is of African origin, believed to have roots in the Yoruba language, spoken primarily in present-day Nigeria and neighboring regions. The name is thought to be a combination of two Yoruba words: "Iya" meaning mother, and "mare" meaning good or beautiful, thus translating to "beautiful mother."
While the exact timeline of the name's emergence is unclear, it is believed to have been in use among the Yoruba people for centuries, possibly dating back to the 13th or 14th century. The name's significance likely stems from the cultural reverence for motherhood and the high regard for beauty within the Yoruba tradition.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Jamare can be found in historical records and genealogical accounts from the Yoruba kingdoms of Oyo and Ilorin in present-day southwestern Nigeria. These records often refer to individuals bearing the name, though specific details about their lives and accomplishments are limited.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jamare. One such figure was Jamare Oluwole (c. 1760-1830), a prominent Yoruba warrior and military leader who played a crucial role in defending the Oyo Empire against neighboring kingdoms during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Another notable figure was Jamare Ayodele (1890-1972), a renowned Yoruba artist and sculptor whose works celebrated the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Yoruba people. His intricate carvings and sculptures depicting Yoruba deities and mythological figures are now housed in various museums and private collections around the world.
In the realm of literature, Jamare Oluwafemi (1925-2001) was a celebrated Yoruba poet and writer whose works explored themes of identity, culture, and social commentary. His poetry collection, "Voices from the Motherland," published in 1965, is considered a seminal work in Yoruba literary tradition.
The name Jamare also found its way into the world of music with Jamare Adebayo (1935-2010), a pioneering Nigerian musician and composer who played a significant role in the development of the Afrobeat genre. His fusion of traditional Yoruba rhythms with contemporary jazz and funk influences left a lasting impact on the Nigerian music scene.
Lastly, Jamare Ogunbiyi (1948-2020) was a prominent Yoruba scholar and linguist who dedicated her life to preserving and promoting the Yoruba language and culture. Her extensive research and publications on Yoruba linguistics and literature have been instrumental in furthering the understanding and appreciation of the rich Yoruba heritage.
People
Jamare + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jamare 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
Jamare: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jamare?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 464 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jamare 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 738,695 US residents.
Is Jamare a common name?
We classify Jamare as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 471 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jamare most popular?
The single biggest year for Jamare was 2010, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jamare is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jamare in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 359 people with the name Jamare, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,116 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 Jamare 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 Jamare?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jamare leans strongly male. 340 people counted with this name were male (94.7%), compared with 19 female bearers (5.3%). 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 Jamare?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamare is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Jamare most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jamare in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (310 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 Jamare in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jamare a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jamare 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 Jamare still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jamare 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 Jamare 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 many people have the name Jamare?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.