Jemal
An Arabic masculine name derived from the word "jamal" meaning beauty or handsomeness.
Name Census estimates that about 845 living Americans carry the first name Jemal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jemal today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jemal births was 1969 (204 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jemal. 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 Jemal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
845
~ 1 in 405,626 Americans
Peak year
1969
204 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,068
Tracked since 1968
Census
Jemal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 923 people with the first name Jemal, which placed it at #13,172 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
#13,172
National first-name rank
People counted
923
923 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jemal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jemal is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are White (6.4%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Jemal 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 Jemal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.1% · 758
- White6.4% · 59
- Two or more races5.6% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Jemal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jemal from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 251 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jemal 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 Jemal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jemals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Jemal, while Florida, Texas, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jemal
The name Jemal has its origins in Arabic culture and is derived from the Arabic word "jamal," meaning "beauty" or "camel." It is believed to have been in use as a given name since the early days of Islam, around the 7th century AD.
In Arabic, the name Jemal is spelled جمال, and its pronunciation can vary slightly depending on the region or dialect. It is a popular name in many Arab countries, as well as in regions with significant Arab or Islamic influence.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Jemal can be found in the Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam. The word "jamal" is mentioned in several verses, often in the context of describing beauty or referring to camels, which were highly valued in Arabian culture.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Jemal. One of the most famous was Jemal ad-Din al-Afghani (1838-1897), an Islamic philosopher and political activist who played a significant role in the late 19th century pan-Islamic movement.
Another prominent figure was Jemal Pasha (1872-1922), an Ottoman military leader and one of the three leaders of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He was known for his harsh governance of the Syrian provinces and his involvement in the Armenian Genocide.
In the field of literature, Jemal Karshenas (1952-2022) was an Iranian poet and writer who gained recognition for his works exploring themes of love, mysticism, and social commentary.
Jemal Abdulloev (born 1945) is a renowned Tajik composer and musician, known for his contributions to the traditional music of Tajikistan and his efforts in preserving the country's cultural heritage.
Jemal Govardhan (1938-2000) was an Indian actor and comedian, known for his comedic roles in numerous Bollywood films and television shows, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s.
The name Jemal has maintained its popularity over the centuries, and while its usage may vary across different regions and cultures, it continues to hold significance and historical relevance, particularly in the Arabic and Islamic world.
People
Jemal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jemal 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
Jemal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jemal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 845 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jemal 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 405,626 US residents.
Is Jemal a common name?
We classify Jemal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 901 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jemal most popular?
The single biggest year for Jemal was 1969, when 204 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jemal is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jemal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 923 people with the name Jemal, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,172 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 Jemal 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 Jemal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jemal leans strongly male. 910 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 23 female bearers (2.5%). 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 Jemal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jemal is Black at 82.1%. The next largest groups are White (6.4%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Jemal most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jemal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (758 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 Jemal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jemal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jemal 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 Jemal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jemal 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 Jemal 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 Jemal?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Jemal, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.