Jayel
A Hebrew name meaning "mountain of God" or "God's high place".
Name Census estimates that about 171 living Americans carry the first name Jayel. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Jayel today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jayel births was 2008 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jayel. 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
171
~ 1 in 2,004,411 Americans
Peak year
2008
27 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2020 SSA rank
#7,765
Tracked since 2007
Census
Jayel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 229 people with the first name Jayel, which placed it at #35,223 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
#35,223
National first-name rank
People counted
229
229 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
37.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jayel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jayel is Black at 37.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.7%) and White (18.3%). 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 Jayel 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 Jayel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American37.1% · 85
- Hispanic or Latino29.7% · 68
- White18.3% · 42
- Two or more races7.0% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Jayel
Jayel is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 173 total registrations, 86 (49.7%) were male and 87 (50.3%) were female.
Jayel as a male name
- Ranked #7,765 in 2020
- 10 male births in 2020
- Peak: 2008 (16 births)
Jayel as a female name
- Ranked #16,159 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2007 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jayel on both sides of the split. Of the 220 people counted with this name, 113 were male (51.4%) and 107 were female (48.6%).
Popularity
Jayel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jayel 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 87 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jayel 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 Jayel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jayels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jayel
The name Jayel is a unique and intriguing moniker with roots that can be traced back to ancient civilizations. Its origins stem from the Hebrew language, where it is believed to have originated as a variation of the name "Yael," which means "mountain goat" or "ibex." This connection to the rugged and resilient mountain goat suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon individuals who embodied characteristics such as strength, agility, and an unwavering spirit.
In the realm of religious scriptures, the name Yael appears in the Book of Judges, where it refers to a heroine who played a pivotal role in the defeat of the Canaanite army. Her bravery and cunning are celebrated, further solidifying the association between the name and qualities of courage and resourcefulness.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Jayel can be found in ancient Hebrew texts and records dating back to the 5th century BCE. During this time, the name was primarily used within Jewish communities, gradually spreading to other cultures and societies through trade, migration, and cultural exchange.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jayel. One such figure was Jayel ben Menahem, a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 9th century CE. His contributions to the study of the Talmud and Jewish law were significant, earning him a lasting legacy within the realm of Judaic scholarship.
Another historical figure named Jayel was Jayel ibn Abi Mansur, an influential Arab poet and writer who lived during the 10th century CE. His poetic works, which often celebrated the beauty of nature and the human experience, have left an indelible mark on the literary traditions of the Middle East.
In the realm of religious history, Jayel al-Qudsi was a revered Sufi mystic and spiritual leader who lived in the 12th century CE. His teachings on the pursuit of inner peace and spiritual enlightenment profoundly influenced the development of Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam.
The name Jayel also found its way into the annals of European history, with Jayel de Montfort, a 13th-century French nobleman and military commander, playing a significant role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France.
Lastly, Jayel ibn Battuta was a renowned Moroccan scholar and explorer who lived in the 14th century CE. His extensive travels, which spanned over 30 years and covered vast regions of Africa, Asia, and Europe, earned him a reputation as one of the greatest travelers and geographers of the medieval era.
These historical figures, spanning various cultures, religions, and eras, serve as a testament to the enduring nature and richness of the name Jayel, showcasing its diverse roots and the remarkable individuals who have carried this moniker throughout the ages.
People
Jayel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jayel 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
Jayel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jayel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 171 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jayel 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 2,004,411 US residents.
Is Jayel a common name?
We classify Jayel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 173 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jayel most popular?
The single biggest year for Jayel was 2008, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jayel is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jayel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 229 people with the name Jayel, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,223 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 Jayel 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 Jayel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jayel on both sides of the split. Of the 220 people counted with this name, 113 were male (51.4%) and 107 were female (48.6%). 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 Jayel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jayel is Black at 37.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (29.7%) and White (18.3%). 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 Jayel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jayel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.1% (85 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 Jayel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jayel a female name?
Yes, 50.3% of people registered as Jayel 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 Jayel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jayel 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 Jayel 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 Americans are named Jayel?
See how many people have the name Jayel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.