Jhalil
An Arabic masculine name meaning "sublime" or "exalted".
Name Census estimates that about 453 living Americans carry the first name Jhalil. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jhalil today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jhalil births was 2017 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jhalil. 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
453
~ 1 in 756,632 Americans
Peak year
2017
26 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,999
Tracked since 1988
Census
Jhalil in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 296 people with the first name Jhalil, which placed it at #29,744 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
#29,744
National first-name rank
People counted
296
296 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jhalil
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jhalil is Black at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Jhalil 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 Jhalil at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.1% · 252
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 19
- Two or more races5.1% · 15
- White1.7% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Jhalil: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jhalil from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 180 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jhalil remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jhalil 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 Jhalil during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jhalil
The name Jhalil is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, with roots tracing back to the Middle Eastern region and the Arabian Peninsula. It is a variant spelling of the more common name Jalil, which is derived from the Arabic word "jaleel," meaning "majestic" or "glorious."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jhalil can be found in ancient Arabic texts and historical records from the 7th century CE. During this time, the name was often associated with individuals of high social standing or those who held positions of respect and authority within their communities.
In Islamic tradition, the name Jhalil holds particular significance as it is one of the 99 names attributed to Allah (God) in the Qur'an. The name is mentioned in various verses, including Surah Al-Hashr (59:23), where it is used to describe Allah as "Al-Jalil," meaning "The Majestic One."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jhalil. One of the earliest recorded figures was Jhalil ibn Ahmad (born circa 810 CE), a renowned Arab mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and trigonometry.
Another prominent figure was Jhalil al-Din Rumi (1207-1273), a Persian poet, scholar, and Sufi mystic whose works, such as the Masnavi, have had a lasting impact on Islamic literature and spirituality.
In the realm of music, Jhalil ibn Nafi' (born circa 680 CE) was a highly acclaimed Arab musician and singer during the Umayyad caliphate, renowned for his vocal talents and compositions.
Jhalil Gibran (1883-1931), a Lebanese-American writer, poet, and artist, is perhaps one of the most well-known figures associated with the name. His book "The Prophet" has been widely celebrated and translated into numerous languages.
More recently, Jhalil Barendse (born 1990) is a South African cricketer who has represented his country in various international tournaments and competitions.
While the name Jhalil has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and can be found in various parts of the world, albeit with slight variations in spelling and pronunciation.
People
Jhalil + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jhalil 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
Jhalil: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jhalil?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 453 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jhalil 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 756,632 US residents.
Is Jhalil a common name?
We classify Jhalil as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 458 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jhalil most popular?
The single biggest year for Jhalil was 2017, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jhalil is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jhalil in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 296 people with the name Jhalil, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,744 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 Jhalil 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 Jhalil?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jhalil appears almost entirely male. Of the 289 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Jhalil?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jhalil is Black at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Jhalil most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jhalil in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (252 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 Jhalil in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jhalil a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jhalil 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 Jhalil still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jhalil 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 Jhalil 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 Jhalil?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.