Jerol
A masculine name of unknown origin, possibly a variant of Gerald.
Name Census estimates that about 81 living Americans carry the first name Jerol. It is a predominantly male name (92.9% of registrations). The average person named Jerol today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jerol births was 1938 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jerol. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Jerol is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Jerols were born before 1963.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jerol. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
81
~ 1 in 4,231,535 Americans
Peak year
1938
18 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1973 SSA rank
#5,282
Tracked since 1931
Census
Jerol in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 204 people with the first name Jerol, which placed it at #37,948 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
#37,948
National first-name rank
People counted
204
204 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jerol
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerol is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Jerol 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 Jerol at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.6% · 146
- Black or African American16.2% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 6
- Two or more races2.9% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Jerol
Jerol leans heavily male at 92.9% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jerol as a male name
- Ranked #5,443 in 1973
- 5 male births in 1973
- Peak: 1938 (18 births)
Jerol as a female name
- Ranked #5,282 in 1946
- 5 female births in 1946
- Peak: 1942 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jerol leans strongly male. 168 people counted with this name were male (83.6%), compared with 33 female bearers (16.4%).
Popularity
Jerol: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jerol from the 1930s through to the 1970s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 46 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jerol 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 Jerol during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jerol
The name Jerol is believed to have originated from the Germanic languages, with roots that can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is a variant of the name Gerald, which itself is derived from the Germanic elements "gair" meaning "spear" and "waldan" meaning "to rule." The name Jerol was primarily found in regions with a strong Germanic cultural influence, such as parts of central and northern Europe.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Jerol can be found in medieval documents and records from the 12th and 13th centuries. While not as widely used as its parent name Gerald, Jerol appeared sporadically throughout various Germanic communities during this period.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Jerol was a Flemish nobleman who lived in the late 13th century. Jerol van Brugge was a prominent landowner and military leader who played a significant role in the conflicts between the County of Flanders and the French monarchy during the reign of Philip IV.
In the 15th century, there are records of a Jerol Eisenbach, a German merchant and trader who was involved in the lucrative spice trade between Europe and the Middle East. His successful business ventures allowed him to amass considerable wealth and influence in his lifetime.
Moving into the 16th century, the name Jerol found some prominence in parts of Scandinavia. Jerol Eriksson was a Swedish naval commander who served under King Gustav Vasa and played a crucial role in several naval battles against the Danish and Hanseatic fleets during the Northern Seven Years' War (1563-1570).
Another notable figure was Jerol Pedersson, a Norwegian scholar and theologian from the late 16th century. He was a prominent figure in the Lutheran church and made significant contributions to the translation of religious texts into the Norwegian language.
In the 17th century, Jerol Groeneveldt was a Dutch explorer and navigator who undertook several voyages to the East Indies and contributed to the expansion of Dutch colonial interests in the region. His detailed accounts and maps of the Indonesian archipelago were highly influential in their time.
While the name Jerol has seen a decline in usage over the past few centuries, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of Germanic names and carries with it a sense of historical significance and cultural heritage.
People
Jerol + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jerol 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
Jerol: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jerol?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jerol 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 4,231,535 US residents.
Is Jerol a common name?
We classify Jerol as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 140 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jerol most popular?
The single biggest year for Jerol was 1938, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jerol is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jerol in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 204 people with the name Jerol, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,948 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 Jerol 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 Jerol?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jerol leans strongly male. 168 people counted with this name were male (83.6%), compared with 33 female bearers (16.4%). 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 Jerol?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerol is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Black (16.2%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Jerol most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jerol in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.6% (146 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 Jerol in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jerol a male name?
Yes, 92.9% of people registered as Jerol 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 Jerol still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jerol 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 Jerol 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 are called Jerol?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.