Jamelle
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "beautiful girl".
Name Census estimates that about 1,117 living Americans carry the first name Jamelle. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 67.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Jamelle today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jamelle births was 1987 (108 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jamelle. 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
- • Jamelle was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 306,853 Americans
Peak year
1987
108 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,473
Tracked since 1948
Census
Jamelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 996 people with the first name Jamelle, which placed it at #12,471 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
#12,471
National first-name rank
People counted
996
996 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jamelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamelle is Black at 76.1%. The next largest groups are White (12.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Jamelle 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 Jamelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.1% · 758
- White12.4% · 124
- Two or more races4.7% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Jamelle
Jamelle is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,191 total registrations, 809 (67.9%) were male and 382 (32.1%) were female.
Jamelle as a male name
- Ranked #11,473 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1988 (93 births)
Jamelle as a female name
- Ranked #12,373 in 1995
- 6 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1975 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jamelle on both sides of the split. Of the 990 people counted with this name, 588 were male (59.4%) and 402 were female (40.6%).
Popularity
Jamelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jamelle from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 515 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jamelle 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 Jamelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jamelles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, Florida, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Jamelle, while Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jamelle
The name Jamelle is derived from the French language and has its roots in the medieval period. It is believed to have originated as a diminutive form of the name Jacques, which in turn comes from the Latin name Jacobus, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jamelle can be traced back to the 13th century in France. During this time, it was not uncommon for names to be adapted and modified, leading to the creation of variant forms like Jamelle.
While the name Jamelle does not have any direct references in religious scriptures or ancient texts, it shares a connection with the biblical name Jacob through its Latin roots. This association may have contributed to its adoption and usage among Christian communities in medieval Europe.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jamelle. One such person was Jamelle Hayne (1564-1632), a French philosopher and writer who authored several works on ethics and morality during the Renaissance period.
Another prominent figure was Jamelle Dubois (1789-1867), a French painter known for his landscapes and portraits. His works were widely exhibited and celebrated during the 19th century.
In the field of literature, Jamelle Verlaine (1844-1896) was a renowned French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. His works, such as "Poèmes saturniens" and "Fêtes galantes," have had a lasting influence on modern poetry.
Moving into the 20th century, Jamelle Mercier (1901-1976) was a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Palais de la Découverte and the Église Saint-Christophe de Javel.
Lastly, Jamelle Durand (1920-1998) was a French resistance fighter during World War II. She played a crucial role in the Resistance movement and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for her bravery and service.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Jamelle, reflecting its enduring presence and significance across various fields and eras.
People
Jamelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jamelle 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
Jamelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jamelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,117 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jamelle 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 306,853 US residents.
Is Jamelle a common name?
We classify Jamelle 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, 1,191 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jamelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Jamelle was 1987, when 108 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jamelle is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jamelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 996 people with the name Jamelle, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,471 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 Jamelle 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 Jamelle?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jamelle on both sides of the split. Of the 990 people counted with this name, 588 were male (59.4%) and 402 were female (40.6%). 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 Jamelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamelle is Black at 76.1%. The next largest groups are White (12.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Jamelle most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jamelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.1% (758 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 Jamelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jamelle a male name?
Yes, 67.9% of people registered as Jamelle in the SSA data are male. 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 Jamelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jamelle 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 Jamelle 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 have Jamelle as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.