Jamylah
A traditionally feminine Arabic name meaning "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 264 living Americans carry the first name Jamylah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jamylah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jamylah births was 2020 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jamylah. 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
264
~ 1 in 1,298,312 Americans
Peak year
2020
27 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,731
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Jamylah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jamylah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 136 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jamylah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jamylah 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 Jamylah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jamylahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jamylah
The name Jamylah is of Arabic origin, derived from the Arabic word "jamil" meaning beautiful or lovely. It has been in use since ancient times in the Arab world and the Middle East.
The earliest known recorded usage of the name Jamylah dates back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the rise of Islam. It is believed to have been used as a name for girls born in influential Arab families and communities during this period.
In Islamic tradition, the name Jamylah is often associated with beauty, grace, and elegance. It is mentioned in several classical Arabic texts and poetry as a descriptive term for women of great charm and beauty.
One of the earliest recorded historical figures with the name Jamylah was Jamylah bint al-Walid, a prominent Arab woman from the Umayyad dynasty who lived in the 7th century CE. She was known for her intelligence, wisdom, and influence in the court of the Umayyad caliphs.
Another notable figure from history with the name Jamylah was Jamylah al-Basriyyah, a renowned Islamic scholar and poet who lived in the 9th century CE in Basra, Iraq. She was highly respected for her knowledge of Arabic literature and her contributions to the literary and intellectual circles of her time.
In the 12th century CE, Jamylah bint al-Muqaddam was a prominent poet and literary figure from Syria. Her works were widely acclaimed and contributed to the rich cultural heritage of the region.
During the Ottoman Empire, Jamylah Khanum was a renowned Turkish poet and calligrapher who lived in the 16th century CE. Her works were celebrated for their beauty and artistic expression.
In more recent history, Jamylah Ali was an influential American Muslim activist and writer who lived from 1925 to 2005. She was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement and worked tirelessly to promote understanding and equality between different communities.
The name Jamylah has remained popular in the Arab world and among Muslim communities around the globe, as it continues to evoke the ideals of beauty, grace, and elegance that have been associated with it throughout history.
People
Jamylah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jamylah 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
Jamylah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jamylah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 264 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jamylah 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 1,298,312 US residents.
Is Jamylah a common name?
We classify Jamylah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 266 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jamylah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jamylah was 2020, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jamylah is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Jamylah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jamylah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jamylah 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 Jamylah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jamylah 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 Jamylah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Jamylah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.