Jermal
Masculine
Jermal sits close to an Arabic name meaning beauty, and that word has a neighbor in the dictionary that has been generating argument for a very long time. The consonants that give the word for beauty also give the word for a camel.
How old is the name Jermal?
Jermal first appears in US birth records in 1969 — 56 years ago. The typical Jermal alive today was born around 1988, making them about 37 years old. About 700 people named Jermal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jermal most popular?
Jermal peaked in 1982, reaching #1734 nationally. See the whole 1982 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Jermal
Arabic builds words from three-consonant roots, and one root produces both jamal, a camel, and jamāl, beauty. Traditional grammarians and modern linguists have offered various accounts: that the root's core sense is something like gathering or completeness, that the camel was admired and the word moved that way, or that two originally separate roots fell together. No account has won. What the coincidence does illustrate is how the language works: a reader who knows the root can often guess at a new word, and can also be badly wrong, because the relationships between words from one root are sometimes poetic rather than logical.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Jamal, the likeliest relative, means beauty in Arabic and that reading is settled for it. This spelling is not documented directly and may equally be an American build.
Pronouncing Jermal
jer-MAHL
Two syllables with the weight on the second. JER-mul, with the stress in front, is also heard.
Nicknames for Jermal
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
- 1969
- Most boys named
- 198233 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1734reached in 1982
- Change vs 2022
- −16.7%5 in 2024, from 6
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.
Jermals among us
people named Jermal are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Jermal sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Jer and Mal are both available as short forms and both work on their own.
- The stress is usually unmistakable, so first attempts land correctly.
- It is short on paper and quick to write.
- Jamal, Jermaine and Jamaal are all in the record and will be confused with it.
- Two stress patterns are in circulation and the spelling settles neither.
- No origin is documented for this spelling, so the meaning question belongs to the Arabic name.
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Jermal
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Jermals 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 Jermal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jermal in 2025?
- Jermal is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Jermal with classmates?
- Jermal will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
James#6 · John#23 · Joseph#29 · Joshua#66 · Jason#165 · Jacob#43 · Jeffrey#552 · Jonathan#89
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jermal? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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