Jaelene
A feminine name with unknown meaning or origin.
Name Census estimates that about 476 living Americans carry the first name Jaelene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jaelene today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaelene births was 1998 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaelene. 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
476
~ 1 in 720,072 Americans
Peak year
1998
36 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,482
Tracked since 1976
Census
Jaelene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 442 people with the first name Jaelene, which placed it at #22,485 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
#22,485
National first-name rank
People counted
442
442 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
63.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jaelene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaelene is Hispanic at 63.6%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.4%). 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 Jaelene 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 Jaelene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino63.6% · 281
- White16.7% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.4% · 46
- Black or African American4.8% · 21
- Two or more races3.8% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
Popularity
Jaelene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaelene from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 203 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jaelene 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 Jaelene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jaelenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Jaelene, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jaelene
The given name Jaelene is a relatively modern creation, with its origins and meaning shrouded in uncertainty. It appears to be a combination of two distinct names – Jae and Lene – which may have roots in different cultures and languages.
One possible origin could be the Hebrew name Jael, which means "mountain goat" or "ibex." In the Book of Judges, Jael is the name of a woman who drove a tent peg through the head of the Canaanite general Sisera, securing victory for the Israelites. This biblical reference might have influenced the construction of the name Jaelene, although the connection is tenuous.
Another potential source is the Scottish name Lena or Lena, which is a diminutive form of Helena, derived from the Greek word "helene," meaning "bright" or "shining." This name has a long history, with notable bearers including Saint Helena, the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Jaelene are relatively recent, with the first known examples appearing in the late 20th century. One of the earliest notable individuals with this name is Jaelene Hullquist, an American singer-songwriter born in 1984, known for her folk-rock music.
Another person of note is Jaelene Nee, an American soccer player born in 1993. Nee plays as a defender for the North Carolina Courage in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and has represented the United States women's national soccer team.
Jaelene Becker, born in 1992, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Chicago Sky in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by the Seattle Storm in 2016 after a successful college career at the University of Oregon.
Jaelene Rendón, born in 1988, is a Guatemalan-American artist and illustrator known for her vibrant and colorful works that often depict scenes from her cultural heritage. Her art has been featured in various exhibitions and publications.
Jaelene Hoskins, born in 1979, is an American entrepreneur and author. She is the founder of the lifestyle brand "Jaelene Marie" and has written several books on personal growth and empowerment for women.
While the name Jaelene may be relatively new, it has already gained some prominence through the achievements of these individuals in various fields, suggesting that it may continue to grow in popularity in the years to come.
People
Jaelene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaelene 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
Jaelene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaelene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 476 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaelene 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 720,072 US residents.
Is Jaelene a common name?
We classify Jaelene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 483 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaelene most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaelene was 1998, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaelene is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jaelene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 442 people with the name Jaelene, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,485 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 Jaelene 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 Jaelene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jaelene leans strongly female. 442 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 7 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Jaelene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaelene is Hispanic at 63.6%. The next largest groups are White (16.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.4%). 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 Jaelene most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jaelene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.6% (281 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 Jaelene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaelene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaelene 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 Jaelene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaelene 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 Jaelene 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 called Jaelene?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.