Jabbar
Masculine · “Arabic al-Jabbar”
Al-Jabbar is one of the ninety-nine names of God, and Islamic practice says you cannot simply take it. The correct form is Abdul-Jabbar, servant of the Compeller, and dropping the servant changes what the name claims.
How old is the name Jabbar?
Jabbar first appears in US birth records in 1972 — 53 years ago. The typical Jabbar alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 700 people named Jabbar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jabbar most popular?
Jabbar peaked in 1972, reaching #917 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 9,778 places below that high. See the whole 1972 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From al-Jabbar to Jabbar
The story of Jabbar
The ninety-nine names are attributes: the Merciful, the Compeller, the Provider, the Just. Muslim naming uses them constantly, but with a rule, since claiming a divine attribute for a person is not acceptable; the name is compounded with abd, servant, so a man is Abdul-Rahman, servant of the Merciful, or Abdul-Jabbar. In English-speaking countries the compound is often shortened in speech and the rule quietly lost. The same word names Orion in Arabic astronomy, al-Jabbar, the giant, which is why the constellation's brightest stars carry Arabic names in English star atlases. The American peak in 1972 follows a very visible name change the previous year by a basketball player who took the full compound form.
Meaning
Arabic al-Jabbar, the Compeller
From Arabic jabbar, one who compels or restores, used as a divine attribute in the Quran and as one of the ninety-nine names. Traditional practice attaches it to abd, servant, giving Abdul-Jabbar. The word is also the Arabic name of the constellation Orion. The American peak is 1972.
How the name formed
- al-Jabbar
- Abdul-Jabbar
- Jabbar
Related forms: Abdul-Jabbar · Jabbar
Pronouncing Jabbar
jah-BAR
Two syllables, stress on the second. The doubled b is a genuinely long consonant in Arabic, which English does not reproduce.
Nicknames for Jabbar
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1972
- Most boys named
- 197276 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #917reached in 1972
- Change vs 2023
- +20.0%6 in 2025, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jabbar in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Abdul-Jabbar in Arabic — related form
- Jabbar in Urdu — same name
Jabbars among us
people named Jabbar are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Jabbar
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Jabbar
- #10695
- Jabbar on the 2025 chart
- #916
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Jabbar went to 6 boys in 2025, but Jabar is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 12, which makes it the 916th most-given boys’ name of the year — 9,779 places above the chart.
- Jabar6
- Jabbar6
About 1 boy in 142,340 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 284,679 for Jabbar itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Nevin test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jabbar's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Nevin climbed just as high around 1926, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Nevin's path sketches the road Jabbar is walking now.
Jabbar sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Jabbar beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jabbar in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is documented and theologically precise.
- Two syllables with a firm ending.
- It is recognized across the Muslim world.
- Used alone it takes a divine attribute without the servant element.
- One athlete dominates the American association.
- The 1972 peak dates it closely.
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Jabbar
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jabbars are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Jabbar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Jabbar?
- Jabbar is one of 2 recorded spellings. Jabar is the more common one — 6 births in 2025 against 6 for Jabbar.
- How popular is the name Jabbar in 2025?
- Jabbar ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jabbar?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Jabbar — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jabbar with classmates?
- Jabbar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jabbar
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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