Jamil last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Jamil is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Jamil.

Meaning of Jamil

Of Arabic origin, meaning beautiful or handsome.

Jamil, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Jamil surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jamil in America

Jamil is the 18579th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jamil surname appeared 1,484 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Jamil.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jamil to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 18579 20041 -7.57%
Count 1,484 1,238 18.07%
Proportion per 100k 0.50 0.46 8.33%

The history of the last name Jamil

The surname Jamil originated from the Arabic language and has its roots in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word "jamil," which means "beautiful" or "handsome." The name is thought to have first emerged in the 7th or 8th century during the Islamic Golden Age, a period of cultural and scientific prosperity in the Arab world.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jamil can be found in the writings of famous Arab poets and scholars from the 9th and 10th centuries. The renowned poet Abu Tammam, who lived from 805 to 845 CE, mentioned the name in his poems, suggesting its widespread use at the time.

In the 11th century, the name Jamil appeared in various historical manuscripts and records, particularly in regions that were once part of the Islamic empires, such as modern-day Iraq, Syria, and Egypt. Some notable individuals from this era include Jamil al-Din al-Aqsara'i, a renowned Islamic scholar and physician who lived from 1066 to 1134 CE.

As the name spread across the Arab world, it also found its way into other regions, including parts of Europe and Asia. In the 13th century, the name was mentioned in the writings of the famous Persian poet and philosopher Rumi, who referred to a person named Jamil in his works.

During the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over vast territories in the Middle East and parts of Europe from the 14th to the early 20th century, the name Jamil became more prevalent. One prominent figure from this period was Jamil Pasha, an Ottoman statesman and governor who lived from 1853 to 1909.

As the Arab diaspora spread across the globe, the surname Jamil traveled with them. In the 19th and 20th centuries, individuals with the name Jamil can be found in various parts of the world, such as Jamil Jayyusi, a Palestinian writer and academic who lived from 1925 to 2009, and Jamil Naqsh, a renowned Pakistani artist born in 1938.

Throughout its history, the surname Jamil has been associated with various places and regions, including the cities of Damascus and Baghdad, as well as the broader Levantine region and the Arabian Peninsula. Its enduring presence across centuries and cultures is a testament to the rich cultural heritage and linguistic diversity of the Arab world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jamil

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Jamil.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Jamil was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 34.50% 512
Non-Hispanic Black Only 2.36% 35
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 54.58% 810
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 6.20% 92
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Jamil has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 34.50% 31.18% 10.11%
Black 2.36% 2.50% -5.76%
Asian and Pacific Islander 54.58% 49.60% 9.56%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.48% (S)%
Two or More Races 6.20% 15.19% -84.06%
Hispanic (S)% 1.05% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Jamil was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Jamil, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Jamil last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 21, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/jamil-surname-popularity/.

"Jamil last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/jamil-surname-popularity/. Accessed 21 November, 2024

Jamil last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/jamil-surname-popularity/.

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