Jowell
Hebrew name meaning "Jehovah or God's gift".
Name Census estimates that about 790 living Americans carry the first name Jowell. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Jowell today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jowell births was 2011 (93 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jowell. 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
790
~ 1 in 433,866 Americans
Peak year
2011
93 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,019
Tracked since 1966
Gender
Gender distribution for Jowell
Out of the 797 babies given the name Jowell since 1880, 99.4% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Jowell as a male name
- Ranked #8,612 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (93 births)
Jowell as a female name
- Ranked #7,019 in 1966
- 5 female births in 1966
- Peak: 1966 (5 births)
Popularity
Jowell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jowell from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 509 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
Jowell 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 Jowell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jowells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. New York, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Jowell, while Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jowell
The name Jowell is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, likely derived from the word "Yovel," which means "jubilee" or "celebration." This name has its roots in ancient Judaic culture, dating back to biblical times.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Jowell can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically in the Book of Leviticus, where the concept of the "Jubilee Year" is introduced as a time of celebration and release from debts every fifty years. This religious and cultural significance may have contributed to the name's popularity among Jewish communities.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jowell. One of the earliest recorded examples is Jowell ben Shuah, a Jewish scholar and rabbi who lived in the 12th century CE and authored several influential works on Jewish law and theology.
In the 16th century, Jowell Raphael da Modena was a prominent Italian rabbi and scholar, known for his contributions to the study of Hebrew grammar and his influential work, "Magen Avot," which defended Jewish traditions against external criticisms.
Moving forward, in the 19th century, Jowell Judah Leib Gordon was a influential Hebrew poet and one of the pioneers of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement. His poetry celebrated Jewish culture and helped revive the use of Hebrew as a literary language.
In more recent times, Jowell Marriner was an English conductor and violinist who lived from 1924 to 2018. He founded the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, an acclaimed chamber orchestra, and was renowned for his interpretations of baroque and classical music.
Lastly, Jowell Caio Vitorino was a Brazilian footballer who played as a forward and represented his country in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. He was born in 1925 and passed away in 2002, leaving a legacy as a talented and influential player in the early days of Brazilian football.
People
Jowell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jowell 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
Jowell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jowell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 790 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jowell 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 433,866 US residents.
Is Jowell a common name?
We classify Jowell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 797 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jowell most popular?
The single biggest year for Jowell was 2011, when 93 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jowell is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jowell a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Jowell 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.