Jameelah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 1,246 living Americans carry the first name Jameelah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jameelah today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jameelah births was 1978 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jameelah. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 275,084 Americans
Peak year
1978
82 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,633
Tracked since 1969
Popularity
Jameelah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jameelah 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 330 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
Jameelah 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 Jameelah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jameelahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Jameelah, while Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jameelah
Jameelah is a feminine given name of Arabic origin, derived from the Arabic word "jameel" meaning "beautiful" or "comely." This name has been in use in various parts of the Arab world and the broader Muslim world for centuries.
The name traces its roots back to the Arabic language, which is a Semitic language that originated in the Arabian Peninsula during the 6th century CE. The word "jameel" is an adjective that describes physical beauty as well as inner beauty, grace, and virtue.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jameelah can be found in the 8th century CE, when it was mentioned in Arabic literature and poetry. The name gained popularity during the medieval Islamic Golden Age, a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing that spanned from the 8th to the 13th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Jameelah. One prominent example is Jameelah Ismail (1934-2012), a American writer and former diplomat who embraced Islam and wrote extensively about it. Another is Jameelah X (1944-2005), an African-American activist and former member of the Nation of Islam.
In the realm of literature, Jameelah Siddiqui (1947-2021) was a Pakistani author and scholar known for her works on Islamic theology and spirituality. The name has also been associated with figures in the arts, such as Jameelah Saddique (1936-2018), a Pakistani classical singer and performer.
Among historical figures, Jameelah bint Abi Sufyan (602-673 CE) was a prominent companion of the Prophet Muhammad and one of the earliest converts to Islam. She is revered in Islamic tradition for her piety and dedication to the faith.
While the name Jameelah has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world, transcending cultural and religious boundaries. The name's association with beauty, grace, and virtue has contributed to its enduring appeal across different societies.
People
Jameelah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jameelah 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
Jameelah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jameelah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,246 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jameelah 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 275,084 US residents.
Is Jameelah a common name?
We classify Jameelah as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,302 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jameelah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jameelah was 1978, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jameelah is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jameelah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jameelah 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.
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.