Jamilia
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful" or "attractive".
Name Census estimates that about 496 living Americans carry the first name Jamilia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jamilia today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jamilia births was 1978 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jamilia. 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 Jamilia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
496
~ 1 in 691,037 Americans
Peak year
1978
26 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,237
Tracked since 1977
Census
Jamilia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 450 people with the first name Jamilia, which placed it at #22,210 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
#22,210
National first-name rank
People counted
450
450 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jamilia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamilia is Black at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and White (5.3%). 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 Jamilia 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 Jamilia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.4% · 353
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 41
- White5.3% · 24
- Two or more races3.6% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 7
Popularity
Jamilia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jamilia from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 176 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jamilia 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 Jamilia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jamilias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Illinois, Georgia recorded the most babies named Jamilia, while Texas, Georgia, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jamilia
The name Jamilia has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, stemming from the word "jamil," which means beautiful or handsome. This name was commonly used in the Middle East during the medieval period, particularly in regions with a strong Islamic influence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jamilia can be found in Arabic literature from the 9th century. It was used as a character name in several poetic works and tales, often representing a woman of great beauty and grace. Additionally, there are mentions of historical figures bearing this name in various ancient texts and records.
In the 11th century, Jamilia al-Mudhaffar, a renowned scholar and poet from Baghdad, gained recognition for her contributions to Arabic literature. Her works were widely celebrated and served as an inspiration for many aspiring writers of the time.
During the Ottoman Empire, which spanned several centuries, the name Jamilia maintained its popularity among the ruling classes and nobility. One notable figure was Jamilia Sultana, the wife of Sultan Murad III, who lived in the late 16th century and was known for her influential role in the imperial court.
As trade and cultural exchange flourished between the Middle East and Europe, the name Jamilia gradually made its way into other regions and languages. In the 18th century, Jamilia Voinova, a Russian playwright and actress, gained recognition for her works and performances, helping to introduce the name to a wider audience.
Throughout history, the name Jamilia has been associated with beauty, grace, and artistic expression. Some other notable individuals who have carried this name include Jamilia Mustafa, an Egyptian actress and singer from the early 20th century, and Jamilia Mukhtar, a renowned Uzbek opera singer and People's Artist of the Soviet Union, who lived from 1916 to 1986.
While the name Jamilia has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has transcended borders and gained popularity in various regions, reflecting the rich tapestry of cultural exchange and historical influence.
People
Jamilia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jamilia 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
Jamilia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jamilia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 496 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jamilia 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 691,037 US residents.
Is Jamilia a common name?
We classify Jamilia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 516 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jamilia most popular?
The single biggest year for Jamilia was 1978, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jamilia is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jamilia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 450 people with the name Jamilia, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,210 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 Jamilia 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 Jamilia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jamilia leans strongly female. 445 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 6 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Jamilia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamilia is Black at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and White (5.3%). 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 Jamilia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jamilia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.4% (353 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 Jamilia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jamilia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jamilia 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.
Is Jamilia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jamilia 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 Jamilia 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 common is the name Jamilia?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Jamilia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.