Jareb
A Biblical name meaning "contender" or "he who struggles".
Name Census estimates that about 69 living Americans carry the first name Jareb. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jareb today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jareb births was 1979 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jareb. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jareb. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
69
~ 1 in 4,967,454 Americans
Peak year
1979
10 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2010 SSA rank
#11,335
Tracked since 1976
Census
Jareb in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 147 people with the first name Jareb, which placed it at #45,869 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
#45,869
National first-name rank
People counted
147
147 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jareb
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jareb is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Jareb 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 Jareb at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.2% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino27.9% · 41
- Two or more races4.1% · 6
- Black or African American3.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 2
Popularity
Jareb: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jareb from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 25 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jareb 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 Jareb during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jareb
The name Jareb is of Hebrew origin, originating from the biblical period. It is believed to be a variation of the Hebrew name "Yareb," which means "he will contend" or "he will struggle." The name appears in the Book of Hosea in the Hebrew Bible, where it is mentioned as a reference to the northern kingdom of Israel.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jareb is Jareb, a figure mentioned in the Book of Hosea in the Bible. Jareb is referenced as a symbolic name representing the kingdom of Israel, which was engaged in a struggle against the Lord.
In the 17th century, Jareb Spencer (1617-1685) was an English Puritan minister who served as the President of Harvard College from 1677 to 1685. He was known for his influential sermons and writings on religious topics.
Jareb Toor (1820-1892) was a prominent American businessman and philanthropist from Pennsylvania. He made his fortune in the coal industry and donated generously to various charitable causes, including the establishment of schools and hospitals.
In the late 19th century, Jareb Ayers (1863-1942) was a American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and was later appointed as a judge in the state's Superior Court.
Jareb Dutcher (1887-1968) was an American artist and illustrator known for his work in the Golden Age of Illustration. He contributed illustrations to numerous magazines and books, including works by renowned authors like Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling.
While not a common name, Jareb has been used throughout history, primarily in religious and literary contexts, as well as by individuals from various professions and backgrounds. Its biblical roots and unique spelling have contributed to its enduring legacy as a distinct and meaningful name.
People
Jareb + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jareb 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
Jareb: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jareb?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 69 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jareb 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 4,967,454 US residents.
Is Jareb a common name?
We classify Jareb as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 72 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jareb most popular?
The single biggest year for Jareb was 1979, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jareb is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jareb in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 147 people with the name Jareb, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,869 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 Jareb 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 Jareb?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jareb leans strongly male. 139 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Jareb?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jareb is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Jareb most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jareb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.2% (90 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 Jareb in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jareb a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jareb 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 Jareb still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jareb 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 Jareb 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 are called Jareb?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.