Jariyah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "young girl" or "servant girl".
Name Census estimates that about 1,182 living Americans carry the first name Jariyah. It is a predominantly female name (97.5% of registrations). The average person named Jariyah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jariyah births was 2013 (85 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jariyah. 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 Jariyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Jariyah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 289,978 Americans
Peak year
2013
85 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,534
Tracked since 2001
Census
Jariyah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 638 people with the first name Jariyah, which placed it at #17,339 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
#17,339
National first-name rank
People counted
638
638 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jariyah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jariyah is Black at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Jariyah 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 Jariyah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.4% · 577
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 27
- Two or more races3.9% · 25
- White0.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Jariyah
Jariyah leans heavily female at 97.5% of total registrations, but 30 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jariyah as a male name
- Ranked #13,050 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (5 births)
Jariyah as a female name
- Ranked #2,534 in 2024
- 70 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (85 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jariyah leans strongly female. 608 people counted with this name were female (94.1%), compared with 38 male bearers (5.9%).
Popularity
Jariyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jariyah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 673 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jariyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jariyah 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 Jariyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jariyahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Jariyah, while Ohio, California, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jariyah
The name Jariyah has its roots in the Arabic language and can be traced back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "jariya," which means "flowing" or "running," often referring to a stream or river. This name is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula, specifically in regions where Arabic was the predominant language.
During the early days of Islam, the name Jariyah gained popularity as it was mentioned in several Islamic texts and scriptures. It is recorded that there were several women with this name during the time of the Prophet Muhammad and the early Islamic era. One notable example is Jariyah bint al-Harith, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad who lived in the 7th century CE.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jariyah can be found in historical records from the 8th century CE. One of the earliest known people with this name was Jariyah al-Qurashiya, a renowned scholar of Arabic literature who lived during the Abbasid Caliphate in the 8th century CE.
Throughout history, the name Jariyah has been associated with several influential figures. One notable example is Jariyah al-Ghazaliya, a 12th-century Sufi mystic and poet from Persia (modern-day Iran). Her writings and teachings had a significant impact on Islamic spirituality and philosophy.
Another prominent figure was Jariyah al-Andalusiya, a 13th-century poet and scholar from the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal). She was known for her contributions to Arabic literature and her expertise in various fields, including medicine and astronomy.
In the 15th century, Jariyah al-Malikiya was a renowned calligrapher and artist from the Ottoman Empire. Her intricate calligraphic works adorned many mosques and palaces of the time, and she was highly respected for her artistic talents.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Jariyah al-Tunisiya was a prominent educator and advocate for women's education in Tunisia. She established one of the first schools for girls in the region and worked tirelessly to promote educational opportunities for women.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Jariyah. The name has been carried by scholars, artists, poets, and influential figures across various regions and time periods, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and enduring significance.
People
Jariyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jariyah 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
Jariyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jariyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,182 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jariyah 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 289,978 US residents.
Is Jariyah a common name?
We classify Jariyah as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,192 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jariyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jariyah was 2013, when 85 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jariyah is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jariyah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 638 people with the name Jariyah, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,339 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 Jariyah 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 Jariyah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jariyah leans strongly female. 608 people counted with this name were female (94.1%), compared with 38 male bearers (5.9%). 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 Jariyah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jariyah is Black at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Jariyah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jariyah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (577 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 Jariyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jariyah a female name?
Yes, 97.5% of people registered as Jariyah 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 Jariyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jariyah 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 Jariyah 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 share the name Jariyah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.