Jeylah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "calm" or "tranquil".
Name Census estimates that about 60 living Americans carry the first name Jeylah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jeylah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jeylah births was 2013 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jeylah. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jeylah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
60
~ 1 in 5,712,572 Americans
Peak year
2013
14 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2020 SSA rank
#16,190
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Jeylah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jeylah from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 55 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
Jeylah 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 Jeylah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jeylahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jeylah
The name Jeylah is a relatively rare and unique name with its origins shrouded in mystery. It is believed to have emerged from ancient Middle Eastern cultures, possibly deriving from the Arabic or Persian languages, but its exact etymology is unclear.
One theory suggests that Jeylah may be a variant spelling or pronunciation of the Arabic name Jaylah, which means "beautiful" or "exquisite." This connection to the concept of beauty could indicate that the name was bestowed upon children as a reflection of their perceived physical attractiveness or as a wish for them to possess inner and outer beauty.
Another potential origin lies in the Persian language, where the name Jeylah could be a derivative of the word "jey," meaning "stream" or "river." In this context, the name may have been a nod to the life-giving properties of water or a metaphor for a person's grace and fluidity.
While there are no definitive historical records or ancient texts that explicitly mention the name Jeylah, its rarity and possible Middle Eastern roots suggest that it may have been used sparingly throughout the centuries by various cultures in that region.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jeylah was a Persian poet and mystic who lived in the 12th century CE. Her full name was Jeylah al-Rumi, and she was known for her spiritual verses and contributions to the Sufi tradition.
In the 16th century, there was a notable figure named Jeylah al-Baghdadi, an influential Islamic scholar and jurist from Baghdad. Her writings on Islamic law and theology were highly regarded during her time.
Fast forward to the 19th century, and we find Jeylah Khanum, a prominent Turkish artist and painter who gained recognition for her portraits and landscape paintings, which were heavily influenced by the Ottoman artistic traditions.
In more recent times, Jeylah Namazie was a trailblazing Iranian-American writer and activist who fought for women's rights and secular values in the Middle East. She was born in 1937 and passed away in 2005.
Another notable figure with the name Jeylah was Jeylah Al-Maliki, an Iraqi politician and diplomat who served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2016, playing a crucial role in international relations during a tumultuous period in Iraq's history.
While the name Jeylah may be relatively uncommon, its rich cultural heritage and the remarkable individuals who have borne it throughout history have left an indelible mark on various fields, ranging from literature and art to politics and academia.
People
Jeylah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jeylah 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
Jeylah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jeylah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 60 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jeylah 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 5,712,572 US residents.
Is Jeylah a common name?
We classify Jeylah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jeylah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jeylah was 2013, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jeylah is about 11 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 Jeylah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jeylah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jeylah 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 Jeylah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jeylah 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 Jeylah 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 the name Jeylah?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Jeylah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.