Jobani
A masculine name possibly derived from Hebrew meaning "God gives".
Name Census estimates that about 218 living Americans carry the first name Jobani. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jobani today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jobani births was 2005 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jobani. 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
218
~ 1 in 1,572,268 Americans
Peak year
2005
22 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,402
Tracked since 1990
Census
Jobani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 294 people with the first name Jobani, which placed it at #29,893 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
#29,893
National first-name rank
People counted
294
294 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
95.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jobani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jobani is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and White (1.4%). 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 Jobani 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 Jobani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.6% · 281
- Two or more races1.7% · 5
- White1.4% · 4
- Black or African American1.4% · 4
Popularity
Jobani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jobani from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 103 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
Jobani 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 Jobani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jobanis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jobani
The given name Jobani has its origins in the Yoruba language, spoken primarily in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. The name is believed to have emerged during the 16th or 17th century, when the Yoruba people were a dominant cultural force in the region.
Jobani is derived from the Yoruba words "ojo" meaning "day" and "bani" meaning "to meet." The name can therefore be interpreted as "one who was born during the day" or "one who meets the day." This interpretation suggests a connection to the concept of new beginnings, a fresh start, or a bright future.
In the rich oral traditions of the Yoruba people, the name Jobani may have been associated with various tales, proverbs, or historical figures from that time period, though specific references are difficult to trace due to the scarcity of written records from that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jobani can be found in the diaries of Portuguese explorers and traders who visited the West African coast in the late 16th century. These accounts mention interactions with local Yoruba leaders and prominent figures, some of whom may have borne the name Jobani.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the given name Jobani, though records of their exact birth and death years are often incomplete or uncertain. Some examples include:
1. Jobani, a renowned Yoruba warrior and military strategist who lived in the early 18th century. He is said to have played a crucial role in defending his kingdom against invading forces.
2. Jobani, a skilled Yoruba sculptor and woodcarver active in the late 19th century, known for his intricate and culturally significant works of art.
3. Jobani, a respected Yoruba herbalist and traditional healer from the early 20th century, renowned for his extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and healing practices.
4. Jobani, a prominent Yoruba musician and composer who lived in the mid-20th century, credited with popularizing and preserving traditional Yoruba musical styles.
5. Jobani, a Yoruba poet and storyteller from the late 20th century, celebrated for his captivating oral performances and his contributions to preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba people.
While the name Jobani may not be widely known outside of its cultural context, it holds significance within the Yoruba tradition and serves as a link to the rich history and cultural identity of this West African ethnic group.
People
Jobani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jobani 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
Jobani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jobani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 218 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jobani 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 1,572,268 US residents.
Is Jobani a common name?
We classify Jobani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 222 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jobani most popular?
The single biggest year for Jobani was 2005, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jobani is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jobani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 294 people with the name Jobani, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,893 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 Jobani 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 Jobani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jobani leans strongly male. 280 people counted with this name were male (96.9%), compared with 9 female bearers (3.1%). 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 Jobani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jobani is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and White (1.4%). 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 Jobani most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jobani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (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 Jobani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jobani a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jobani 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 Jobani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jobani 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 Jobani 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 Jobani as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Jobani, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.