Jerahmeel
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "God has mercy" or "God shows compassion".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Jerahmeel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jerahmeel today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jerahmeel births was 2019 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jerahmeel. 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 Jerahmeel with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jerahmeel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2019
5 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,004
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Jerahmeel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Jerahmeel 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 Jerahmeel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Jerahmeel
The name Jerahmeel has its origins in the Hebrew language. It is a biblical name mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. The name is derived from the Hebrew words "yerahmeel" which means "God has compassion" or "God pities."
Jerahmeel was the name of a son of Hezron, who was a descendant of Judah, according to the Book of Chronicles in the Bible. In the Book of Jeremiah, Jerahmeel is mentioned as a place name, likely referring to a town or region named after the person.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jerahmeel can be found in the Bible, specifically in 1 Chronicles 2:25-26, which mentions Jerahmeel as the son of Hezron. The name also appears in Jeremiah 36:26 as a place name.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Jerahmeel. One of the most famous was Jerahmeel ben Solomon (1510-1585), a prominent Jewish scholar and Rabbi from Safed, Palestine. He is known for his works on Jewish law and philosophy.
Another notable figure was Jerahmeel ben Isaac (12th century), a Jewish scholar from Spain who wrote commentaries on the Torah and other Jewish texts. He was a student of the renowned Jewish philosopher, Maimonides.
In the 17th century, Jerahmeel ben Moses Polovtser (1640-1720) was a Ukrainian-born Jewish scholar and kabbalist who lived in Poland and Lithuania. He wrote extensively on Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalah.
Jerahmeel ben Samuel (16th century) was a Jewish physician and scholar from Italy who wrote on medicine and Jewish law.
Jerahmeel ben Isaac Bassola (14th century) was a Jewish scholar and poet from Italy who wrote Hebrew poetry and works on Jewish law.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Jerahmeel. While the name has Hebrew origins and biblical references, it has been used across various Jewish communities and cultures over the centuries.
People
Jerahmeel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jerahmeel 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
Jerahmeel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jerahmeel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jerahmeel 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Jerahmeel a common name?
We classify Jerahmeel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jerahmeel most popular?
The single biggest year for Jerahmeel was 2019, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jerahmeel is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Jerahmeel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jerahmeel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jerahmeel 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 Jerahmeel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jerahmeel 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 Jerahmeel 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Jerahmeel as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Jerahmeel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.