Jamon
Of Spanish origin, a variation of the word "jamón" which means ham or cured pork.
Name Census estimates that about 2,658 living Americans carry the first name Jamon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jamon today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jamon births was 1999 (94 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jamon. 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
2.7K
~ 1 in 128,952 Americans
Peak year
1999
94 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,517
Tracked since 1964
Census
Jamon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,076 people with the first name Jamon, which placed it at #7,366 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
#7,366
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,076 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jamon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamon is Black at 72.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Jamon 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 Jamon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.4% · 1,503
- White18.7% · 388
- Two or more races4.1% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Jamon
Out of the 2,738 babies given the name Jamon since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Jamon as a male name
- Ranked #5,517 in 2024
- 17 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (94 births)
Jamon as a female name
- Ranked #8,954 in 1978
- 6 female births in 1978
- Peak: 1978 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jamon leans strongly male. 2,044 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 25 female bearers (1.2%).
Popularity
Jamon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jamon from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 755 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
Jamon 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 Jamon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jamons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Jamon, while Tennessee, Indiana, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 53 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jamon
The name Jamon has its origins in the Spanish language and can be traced back to the late 15th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "jamón," which means "ham" or "cured pork leg." The name is believed to have originated as a nickname or occupational name for someone who was involved in the production or sale of ham.
In the early 16th century, the name Jamon was mentioned in a Spanish play called "La Celestina" by Fernando de Rojas. The play, which was first published in 1499, is considered a masterpiece of Spanish literature and one of the earliest examples of the use of the name Jamon.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Jamon was Jamon de la Peña, a Spanish soldier who fought in the Conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. Another notable figure was Jamon García, a Spanish painter who lived in the 17th century and was known for his religious paintings.
In the 18th century, Jamon Martínez was a Spanish explorer who accompanied the expeditions of Juan Pérez and Esteban José Martínez to the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. His journals and maps provided valuable information about the region and its indigenous peoples.
During the 19th century, Jamon Romero was a prominent Spanish politician and lawyer who served as a deputy in the Spanish Parliament and advocated for liberal reforms. He played a significant role in the drafting of the Spanish Constitution of 1869.
Another notable individual with the name Jamon was Jamon Jiménez, a Spanish poet and writer who lived in the early 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956 for his lyrical poetry, which drew inspiration from the natural world and his deep spiritual beliefs.
While the name Jamon may seem unusual or even humorous to some, it has a rich history and cultural significance in Spanish-speaking regions. The name has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including soldiers, artists, explorers, politicians, and literary figures, reflecting the diverse and fascinating tapestry of Spanish history and culture.
People
Jamon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jamon 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
Jamon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jamon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,658 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jamon 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 128,952 US residents.
Is Jamon a common name?
We classify Jamon as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,738 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jamon most popular?
The single biggest year for Jamon was 1999, when 94 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jamon is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jamon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,076 people with the name Jamon, or 0.69 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,366 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 Jamon 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 Jamon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jamon leans strongly male. 2,044 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 25 female bearers (1.2%). 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 Jamon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamon is Black at 72.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Jamon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jamon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.4% (1,503 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 Jamon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jamon a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Jamon 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 Jamon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jamon 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 Jamon 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 Jamon?
You can see how many people share the name Jamon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.