Jilla
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "shadow, shade".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Jilla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jilla today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jilla births was 1951 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jilla. 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 Jilla is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Jillas were born before 1965.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jilla. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1951
6 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1951 SSA rank
#5,106
Tracked since 1951
Census
Jilla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 168 people with the first name Jilla, which placed it at #42,627 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
#42,627
National first-name rank
People counted
168
168 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jilla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jilla is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.2%). 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 Jilla 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 Jilla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 135
- Two or more races7.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 4
- Black or African American1.8% · 3
Popularity
Jilla: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Jilla 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 Jilla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Jilla
The name Jilla is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, with its roots dating back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "jillah," which translates to "glory" or "majesty." This name was particularly popular among the Arab and Islamic communities during the medieval period.
In the early years of Islam, Jilla was a name often bestowed upon individuals who displayed qualities of strength, courage, and honor. It was considered a name that embodied the ideals of the Islamic faith and was associated with nobility and reverence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jilla can be found in the works of renowned Islamic scholars and historians from the 9th and 10th centuries CE. These texts mention individuals bearing this name, indicating its widespread usage during that time.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Jilla. One such person was Jilla al-Andalusi, a renowned poet and scholar from Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain) who lived in the 11th century CE. His literary works and contributions to the field of Arabic literature have been widely celebrated.
Another prominent figure was Jilla al-Dimashqi, a Syrian philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 12th century CE. He made significant contributions to the study of mathematics and logic, and his works were highly influential in the Islamic world.
In the 14th century CE, Jilla al-Qazwini, a Persian geographer and historian, gained recognition for his comprehensive encyclopedic work titled "Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-'Ibad" (Monuments of the Countries and Reports on the People), which provided detailed accounts of various regions and their inhabitants.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Jilla was also adopted by several notable individuals. One such figure was Jilla Pasha, a high-ranking Ottoman military commander who served during the 16th century CE. He was known for his leadership and military prowess in various campaigns.
Another individual worth mentioning is Jilla Bey, a 17th-century Ottoman statesman and diplomat who played a crucial role in negotiating treaties and fostering diplomatic relations between the Ottoman Empire and other nations.
While the name Jilla has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has also been embraced by various other communities and cultures over the centuries. Its enduring presence in history reflects the significance and admiration associated with the qualities it represents.
People
Jilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jilla 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
Jilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jilla 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Jilla a common name?
We classify Jilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Jilla was 1951, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jilla is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jilla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 168 people with the name Jilla, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,627 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 Jilla 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 Jilla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jilla leans strongly female. 167 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Jilla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jilla is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.2%). 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 Jilla most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jilla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (135 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 Jilla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jilla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jilla 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 Jilla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jilla 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 Jilla 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 named Jilla?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.