Jalene
Feminine name of unknown origin, possibly a variant of the name Jolene.
Name Census estimates that about 1,120 living Americans carry the first name Jalene. It is a predominantly female name (94.5% of registrations). The average person named Jalene today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jalene births was 2004 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jalene. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 306,031 Americans
Peak year
2004
45 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2002 SSA rank
#9,907
Tracked since 1939
Census
Jalene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,130 people with the first name Jalene, which placed it at #11,380 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
#11,380
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,130 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jalene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jalene is White at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.9%) and Black (16.5%). 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 Jalene 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 Jalene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.9% · 507
- Hispanic or Latino28.9% · 327
- Black or African American16.5% · 186
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 49
- Two or more races4.2% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Jalene
Jalene leans heavily female at 94.5% of total registrations, but 67 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jalene as a male name
- Ranked #9,907 in 2002
- 6 male births in 2002
- Peak: 1995 (10 births)
Jalene as a female name
- Ranked #16,230 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (45 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jalene leans strongly female. 1,071 people counted with this name were female (94.6%), compared with 61 male bearers (5.4%).
Popularity
Jalene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jalene from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 349 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
Jalene 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 Jalene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jalenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Jalene, while New Jersey, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jalene
Jalene is a feminine given name of uncertain origin, but it is believed to be a combination of the French name Jalen and the English name Lena. The name Jalen is a variant of the French name Jalien, which is derived from the Old French word "jalien," meaning "jealous."
The earliest recorded use of the name Jalene dates back to the early 20th century in the United States. It is possible that the name was created by combining the names Jalen and Lena as a way to create a unique and distinctive name.
While there are no known historical references to the name Jalene in ancient texts or religious scriptures, there have been several notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jalene was Jalene Johnson (1900-1985), an American artist and painter known for her vibrant landscapes and still-life paintings. Another notable Jalene was Jalene Lorenzen (1920-2010), a Danish author and journalist who wrote several books on European history and culture.
In the field of music, Jalene Peebles (1946-2010) was an American gospel singer and songwriter who gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s for her powerful vocals and inspirational lyrics. Jalene Mathers (1960-present) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who has released several albums and performed extensively throughout North America.
In the world of sports, Jalene Watkins (1974-present) is a former American basketball player who played in the WNBA for several seasons and was known for her defensive skills and hustle on the court.
These are just a few examples of individuals named Jalene who have made significant contributions in various fields throughout history. While the name may be relatively uncommon, it has a unique and intriguing background that reflects its blend of French and English influences.
People
Jalene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jalene 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
Jalene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jalene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,120 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jalene 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 306,031 US residents.
Is Jalene a common name?
We classify Jalene as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,227 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jalene most popular?
The single biggest year for Jalene was 2004, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jalene is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jalene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,130 people with the name Jalene, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,380 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 Jalene 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 Jalene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jalene leans strongly female. 1,071 people counted with this name were female (94.6%), compared with 61 male bearers (5.4%). 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 Jalene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jalene is White at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.9%) and Black (16.5%). 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 Jalene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jalene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.9% (507 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 Jalene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jalene a female name?
Yes, 94.5% of people registered as Jalene 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 Jalene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jalene 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 Jalene 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 common is the name Jalene?
See how many Americans are named Jalene on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.