Boys' name · peaked in 1994
Jamal name popularity since 1925
33,501 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Jamal (0.8% girls, 99.2% boys). Half of them were born in 1993 or earlier, so the typical Jamal is about 33 years old in 2026. Jamal peaked in 1994 as the #240 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 33,501
- Named Jamal, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,197 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.2% boys
- 266 girls · 33,235 boys
- Most popular in
- District of Columbia
- 5.43× its national share
Peak year is the year Jamal made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Jamal births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1993. Measured as a share of all babies, Jamal peaked in 1994.
- Fastest rise: Between 1983 and 1988, Jamal became 2× more common, from 1 in 3,850 baby boys to 1 in 1,880.
- Steepest fall: Between 1993 and 1998, its share of baby boys fell by 43%, from 1 in 1,580 to 1 in 2,770.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Jamal's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Jamal.
Decade by decade
Babies named Jamal in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 11 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 0 | 91 | Under 5 |
| 1960s | 22 | 558 | #1,691 |
| 1970s | 95 | 4,691 | #357 |
| 1980s | 102 | 7,187 | #323 |
| 1990s | 47 | 10,265 | #266 |
| 2000s | 0 | 5,898 | #463 |
| 2010s | 0 | 3,266 | #739 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,268 | #1,197 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 boys got the name.
Generation fingerprint
43.8% of babies named Jamal from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Jamal is most popular
The index compares Jamal's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Jamal.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 5.43× | 782 |
| Maryland | 3.17× | 1,514 |
| Louisiana | 2.47× | 1,388 |
| Georgia | 2.19× | 1,892 |
| Florida | 1.96× | 2,213 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Jamal and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Jamal (this page) | 33,235 | 1994 |
| Jamel | 11,225 | 1988 |
| Jamaal | 8,542 | 1982 |
| Jamil | 7,481 | 1991 |
| Jamall | 1,519 | 1980 |
| Jahmal | 1,211 | 1993 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Jamal's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Jamal.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Jamal (1994).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data