Kemar
Masculine
Jamaica has its own naming system and it is not the American one. Kemar, Kemoy, Shanique, Oneil and Romario belong to a Jamaican stock of coinages with its own elements and its own rules, developed alongside the African American one without borrowing much from it.
How old is the name Kemar?
Kemar first appears in US birth records in 1989 — 36 years ago. The typical Kemar alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 600 people named Kemar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kemar most popular?
Kemar peaked in 2009, reaching #3274 nationally. Today it ranks #6803, 3,529 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kemar
It is easy to assume that Caribbean and African American naming are one system, because both are Black, Anglophone and inventive. They are not. Jamaican naming has its own productive elements, Ke-, Sha-, -oy, -ique and -mar among them, and its own favorites, and a Jamaican class list is immediately distinguishable from an American one to anyone from either place. The systems developed in parallel from the 1960s onward, in different countries with different media, and the overlap is smaller than the shared history suggests. Kemar is one of the most-used Jamaican men's names of the last forty years, and it reached American records with Jamaican migration; its best year in the United States is 2009.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No inherited etymology. The name is built from the Ke- opening and a -mar ending, both free elements. The -mar may echo Omar, Arabic Umar, which entered Caribbean naming in the twentieth century. No source dictionary supports a meaning for the compound, and glosses offered from Arabic or African languages are retrofits.
Pronouncing Kemar
kuh-MAR
Two syllables with the stress at the end. Jamaican English gives the final r less weight than American English does.
Nicknames for Kemar
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
- 1989
- Most boys named
- 200934 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3274reached in 2009
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%12 in 2025, from 12
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.
Kemar in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kemarr in English — spelling variant
- Kemoy in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Florida.
Kemars among us
people named Kemar are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 142,340 born in 2025 was named Kemar
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mylon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kemar's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mylon climbed just as high around 1958, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mylon's path sketches the road Kemar is walking now.
Kemar 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
Kemar beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kemar in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- End-stressed, which gives it a rhythm most English names lack.
- Genuinely common in Jamaica, so it has a real community of bearers.
- Five letters and no spelling difficulty.
- The name has no meaning to pass on.
- Kemar and Kemarr both circulate.
- It is close to Lamar and Jamar and gets confused with both.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Kemar to the vote.
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What they receive
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Kemar
Masculine · #6803 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kemars are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Kemar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kemar in 2025?
- Kemar ranks #6803 among US boy names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kemar?
- About 1 in every 142,340 US boys born in 2025 was named Kemar — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kemar with classmates?
- Kemar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kemar
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zeb#6803 · Buster#6803 · Fabien#6803 · Eston#6803 · Tyjuan#6803 · Fuad#6803 · Aaiden#6803 · Sanford#6803
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kemar? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kemar and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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