Remel
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "golden sand".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Remel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Remel today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Remel births was 1926 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Remel. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Remel with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Remel is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Remels were born before 1967.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Remel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1926
6 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1968 SSA rank
#7,899
Tracked since 1924
Census
Remel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 109 people with the first name Remel, which placed it at #52,143 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
#52,143
National first-name rank
People counted
109
109 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Remel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Remel is Black at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.6%) and White (6.4%). 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 Remel 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 Remel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.8% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.6% · 17
- White6.4% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 5
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Popularity
Remel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Remel from the 1920s through to the 1960s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Remel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Remel 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 Remel 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 Remel
The name Remel is believed to have originated in the Middle East, deriving from the Arabic word 'raml,' which means 'sand.' The earliest known use of the name dates back to the 7th century, during the rise of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. It is thought to have been a name given to those born in or near the desert regions, reflecting the importance of sand as a natural resource and a symbol of endurance in the harsh desert environment.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Remel can be found in the works of the renowned Arab scholar and historian, Al-Tabari (838-923 CE). In his comprehensive historical chronicles, he references a companion of the Prophet Muhammad known as Remel ibn Abi al-Aswad, who participated in the early Muslim conquests and the spread of Islam across the Middle East.
Throughout the medieval period, the name Remel appeared sporadically in various historical accounts and literary works from the Arabic-speaking world. One notable figure was Remel al-Andalusi (1056-1126 CE), a renowned poet and philosopher from Al-Andalus (present-day Spain and Portugal), who was celebrated for his contributions to the intellectual and cultural renaissance of the Islamic Golden Age.
In the 13th century, a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist, Remel al-Din al-Suyuti (1445-1505 CE), achieved fame for his extensive writings on Islamic law, hadith (prophetic traditions), and Quranic exegesis. His works have been widely studied and referenced by Islamic scholars throughout the centuries.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Remel was borne by several notable figures, including Remel Pasha (1645-1703 CE), a successful military commander and governor who served under Sultan Mehmed IV. His military campaigns and administrative reforms contributed to the expansion and consolidation of Ottoman power in the 17th century.
In more recent history, Remel Ghani (1901-1977 CE) was a prominent Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and represented Egypt in various international forums. He played a crucial role in shaping Egypt's foreign policy during a turbulent period in the nation's history.
While the name Remel has remained relatively uncommon outside the Arabic-speaking world, it has persisted as a unique and culturally significant name, reflecting its deep-rooted origins in the rich heritage of the Middle East.
People
Remel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Remel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Remel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Remel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Remel 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Remel a common name?
We classify Remel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Remel most popular?
The single biggest year for Remel was 1926, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Remel is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Remel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 109 people with the name Remel, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,143 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 Remel 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 Remel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Remel on both sides of the split. Of the 108 people counted with this name, 62 were male (57.4%) and 46 were female (42.6%). 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 Remel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Remel is Black at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.6%) and White (6.4%). 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 Remel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Remel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (75 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 Remel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Remel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Remel 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 Remel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Remel 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 Remel 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 Remel?
Find out how many people have the name Remel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.