Jamiel
Arabic masculine name meaning "cameleer" or "one who works with camels".
Name Census estimates that about 850 living Americans carry the first name Jamiel. It is a predominantly male name (97.8% of registrations). The average person named Jamiel today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jamiel births was 1981 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jamiel. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jamiel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
850
~ 1 in 403,240 Americans
Peak year
1981
35 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,574
Tracked since 1969
Census
Jamiel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 745 people with the first name Jamiel, which placed it at #15,443 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
#15,443
National first-name rank
People counted
745
745 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jamiel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamiel is Black at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.3%) and White (12.2%). 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 Jamiel 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 Jamiel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.2% · 426
- Hispanic or Latino19.3% · 144
- White12.2% · 91
- Two or more races6.8% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Jamiel
Jamiel leans heavily male at 97.8% of total registrations, but 19 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jamiel as a male name
- Ranked #10,287 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1981 (27 births)
Jamiel as a female name
- Ranked #9,574 in 1984
- 6 female births in 1984
- Peak: 1981 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jamiel leans strongly male. 659 people counted with this name were male (89.2%), compared with 80 female bearers (10.8%).
Popularity
Jamiel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jamiel 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 205 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
Jamiel 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 Jamiel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jamiels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Florida, New York recorded the most babies named Jamiel, while Ohio, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jamiel
The name Jamiel is of Arabic origin, derived from the root word "jamil," which means "beautiful" or "handsome." It is believed to have originated in the Middle East during the medieval period, around the 7th to 13th centuries.
In Arabic culture, the name Jamiel carries a positive connotation and is often associated with physical attractiveness, grace, and charm. It is a popular name among Muslims and has been used across various regions of the Arab world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jamiel can be found in the works of renowned Arab poets and writers from the medieval period. While the name itself may not have appeared in religious scriptures, it reflects the Arabic language's emphasis on beauty and aesthetic appreciation.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jamiel. One of the earliest recorded figures was Jamiel al-Zahawi (1863-1936), an Iraqi poet and writer who played a significant role in the Arabic literary renaissance during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Another prominent figure was Jamiel Shehade (1925-1992), a Palestinian lawyer and activist who advocated for Palestinian rights and was a member of the Palestinian National Council.
In the realm of sports, Jamiel Shayed (born 1975) is a former professional football (soccer) player from Saudi Arabia who represented his national team in several international tournaments.
Jamiel Terrell (born 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA and various international leagues.
Jamiel Khayyat (born 1982) is a Jordanian-American composer and musician known for his work in film and television scores.
While the name Jamiel has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has gained popularity across various regions and communities, transcending its linguistic and cultural boundaries.
People
Jamiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jamiel 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
Jamiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jamiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 850 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jamiel 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 403,240 US residents.
Is Jamiel a common name?
We classify Jamiel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 877 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jamiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Jamiel was 1981, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jamiel is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jamiel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 745 people with the name Jamiel, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,443 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 Jamiel 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 Jamiel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jamiel leans strongly male. 659 people counted with this name were male (89.2%), compared with 80 female bearers (10.8%). 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 Jamiel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamiel is Black at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.3%) and White (12.2%). 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 Jamiel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jamiel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.2% (426 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 Jamiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jamiel a male name?
Yes, 97.8% of people registered as Jamiel 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 Jamiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jamiel 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 Jamiel 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 Jamiel as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.