Jemel
An Arabic name meaning "beauty" or "handsome".
Name Census estimates that about 695 living Americans carry the first name Jemel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jemel today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jemel births was 1989 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jemel. 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
695
~ 1 in 493,172 Americans
Peak year
1989
29 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,070
Tracked since 1968
Popularity
Jemel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jemel from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 229 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jemel 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 Jemel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jemels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, North Carolina, Georgia recorded the most babies named Jemel, while Georgia, North Carolina, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 64 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jemel
The name Jemel is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic word "jamal," which means "beauty" or "camel." This name was initially prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa, regions where Arabic culture and language held significant influence.
In the Islamic tradition, the name Jemel finds mention in various historical records and texts. One notable example is the Quran, where the word "jamal" is used to describe the beauty of God's creations. This association with divine beauty may have contributed to the name's popularity among Muslim communities.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Jemel can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the early years of the Islamic Golden Age. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Jemel ibn Yazdad, a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist who lived in the city of Kufa, present-day Iraq, during the 8th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Jemel. One prominent example is Jemel al-Din al-Afghani (1838-1897), an influential Islamic philosopher and political activist who played a significant role in the late 19th-century Islamic revivalist movement.
Another noteworthy individual was Jemel Bey (1875-1945), an Egyptian prince and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Egypt in the early 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Jemel ibn Nubata (1287-1366) was a renowned Arab poet and writer from Damascus, whose works were highly celebrated during the Mamluk period.
The name Jemel also gained recognition in the world of sports, with Jemel Hosiri (born 1974), a former Tunisian professional football player who represented his national team in several international tournaments.
While the name Jemel has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has since been adopted and used in various parts of the world, transcending cultural and linguistic boundaries.
People
Jemel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jemel 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
Jemel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jemel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 695 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jemel 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 493,172 US residents.
Is Jemel a common name?
We classify Jemel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 724 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jemel most popular?
The single biggest year for Jemel was 1989, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jemel is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jemel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jemel 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.
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.