Jawara
Masculine name of Mandinka origin meaning warrior or champion.
Name Census estimates that about 265 living Americans carry the first name Jawara. It is a predominantly male name (98.2% of registrations). The average person named Jawara today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jawara births was 1992 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jawara. 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
265
~ 1 in 1,293,413 Americans
Peak year
1992
21 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2002 SSA rank
#9,948
Tracked since 1971
Census
Jawara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 239 people with the first name Jawara, which placed it at #34,236 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
#34,236
National first-name rank
People counted
239
239 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jawara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jawara is Black at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and White (2.9%). 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 Jawara 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 Jawara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.1% · 213
- Two or more races4.2% · 10
- White2.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Jawara
Jawara leans heavily male at 98.2% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jawara as a male name
- Ranked #9,948 in 2002
- 6 male births in 2002
- Peak: 1992 (21 births)
Jawara as a female name
- Ranked #10,378 in 1978
- 5 female births in 1978
- Peak: 1978 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jawara leans strongly male. 230 people counted with this name were male (95.0%), compared with 12 female bearers (5.0%).
Popularity
Jawara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jawara from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 120 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
Jawara 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 Jawara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jawaras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jawara
The name Jawara is believed to have originated from the Mandinka language, spoken primarily in parts of West Africa, including Guinea, Senegal, and the Gambia. It is thought to have emerged sometime during the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.
The name Jawara is derived from the Mandinka word "jawa," which means "lion." In many West African cultures, lions are revered for their strength, courage, and leadership qualities. It is likely that the name was initially given to individuals who exhibited these characteristics or were considered leaders within their communities.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jawara can be found in the Mandinka epic poem, the Sunjata, which dates back to the 13th century. The poem tells the story of the legendary Mandinka ruler, Sundiata Keita, and mentions a character named Jawara, who is described as a fierce warrior and loyal ally.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jawara. One of the most famous was Jawara Silla Bâ, a Mandinka military leader and diplomat who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He played a crucial role in the resistance against French colonial expansion in present-day Guinea.
Another prominent figure was Jawara Niang, a Senegalese wrestler and cultural icon who lived from 1949 to 2013. He was a multiple-time champion in traditional Senegalese wrestling and was widely respected for his skill and dedication to preserving cultural traditions.
In the realm of politics, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (1924-2017) was the first Prime Minister and later President of the Gambia, leading the country from 1962 to 1994. He was instrumental in guiding the Gambia to independence and promoting democratic principles.
During the American Civil War, Jawara McIntosh (1836-1864) was a famous African American soldier who served in the renowned 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was one of the first African American commissioned officers in the Union Army and was killed in action during the Battle of Olustee in 1864.
Jawara Gambia Sill (1872-1944) was a notable Gambian educator and writer who played a significant role in promoting literacy and education in his country. He authored several books and established several schools, contributing to the intellectual and cultural development of the Gambian people.
People
Jawara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jawara 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
Jawara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jawara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 265 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jawara 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 1,293,413 US residents.
Is Jawara a common name?
We classify Jawara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 279 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jawara most popular?
The single biggest year for Jawara was 1992, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jawara is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jawara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 239 people with the name Jawara, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,236 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 Jawara 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 Jawara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jawara leans strongly male. 230 people counted with this name were male (95.0%), compared with 12 female bearers (5.0%). 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 Jawara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jawara is Black at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and White (2.9%). 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 Jawara most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jawara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (213 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 Jawara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jawara a male name?
Yes, 98.2% of people registered as Jawara 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 Jawara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jawara 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 Jawara 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 the name Jawara?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.