Pamel
A feminine name likely derived from the Greek word "pamphilos", meaning "all-loving".
Name Census estimates that about 39 living Americans carry the first name Pamel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pamel today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pamel births was 1957 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pamel. 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 Pamel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
39
~ 1 in 8,788,573 Americans
Peak year
1957
7 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1970 SSA rank
#8,924
Tracked since 1957
Census
Pamel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 397 people with the first name Pamel, which placed it at #24,319 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
#24,319
National first-name rank
People counted
397
397 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 Pamel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pamel is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Pamel 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 Pamel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 319
- Black or African American11.3% · 45
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 7
- Two or more races1.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Pamel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pamel from the 1950s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 31 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pamel 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 Pamel 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 Pamel
The given name Pamel is believed to have its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization, which flourished in what is now modern-day Italy during the 8th to 3rd centuries BCE. Linguists suggest that the name may be derived from the Etruscan word "pamel," meaning "flower" or "blossom." This connection to nature and the beauty of blooming flora likely contributed to the name's early popularity among the Etruscan people.
While no direct references to the name Pamel have been found in surviving Etruscan texts or artifacts, some scholars speculate that it may have been mentioned in now-lost writings or inscriptions from that era. The name's use appears to have been largely confined to the Etruscan territories of central Italy during its earliest known period.
The first recorded instance of the name Pamel dates back to the 2nd century CE, when it was inscribed on a Roman funerary stele discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii. This suggests that the name had spread from the Etruscan culture to the neighboring Roman civilizations by that time.
In the 5th century, a Roman philosopher and scholar named Pamel Claudius is known to have authored several treatises on ethics and virtue. His writings, though now lost, were referenced by later scholars, indicating his significant influence during the waning years of the Western Roman Empire.
During the Middle Ages, a French noblewoman named Pamel de Montfort (1150-1220) gained renown for her patronage of the arts and her support of the Crusades. She is credited with commissioning several illuminated manuscripts and tapestries that remain important examples of medieval European art.
In the 15th century, an Italian Renaissance painter named Pamel Botticelli (1445-1510) achieved lasting fame for her masterpieces, including the iconic "Birth of Venus" and the "Primavera" allegory. Her work is celebrated for its graceful figures, vibrant colors, and intricate symbolism.
Another notable figure bearing the name Pamel was the 17th-century Dutch explorer and cartographer Pamel van der Decken (1610-1678). His detailed maps and navigational charts of the East Indies and the Indian Ocean were instrumental in advancing maritime exploration and trade during the Age of Sail.
These examples illustrate the enduring presence of the name Pamel throughout various eras and cultures, from its ancient Etruscan roots to its later adoption and use by notable individuals across Europe and beyond.
People
Pamel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pamel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Pamel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pamel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 39 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pamel 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 8,788,573 US residents.
Is Pamel a common name?
We classify Pamel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 48 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pamel most popular?
The single biggest year for Pamel was 1957, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pamel is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pamel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 397 people with the name Pamel, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,319 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 Pamel 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 Pamel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pamel leans strongly female. 397 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 7 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Pamel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pamel is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Pamel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pamel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (319 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 Pamel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pamel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pamel 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 Pamel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pamel 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 Pamel 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 Pamel?
Find out how many people have the name Pamel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.