Explore the Family Name Jemal

The meaning of Jemal

1. Muslim (mainly Ethiopia): variant of Jamal, a personal name based on Arabic jamāl ‘beauty, grace’. 2. Jewish (from the Levant): from the personal name borrowed from Muslims (see 1 above).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Jemal in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Jemal has notably increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Jemal was ranked 82,344 in terms of popular surnames in the US, but by 2010 it had risen to a rank of 60,505, marking an impressive 26.52% increase. The actual count of people with this surname also rose from 213 to 333 during this period, representing a significant boost of 56.34%. Consequently, the proportion of the surname Jemal per 100,000 people similarly grew by 37.5%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#82,344	#60,505	26.52%
Count	213	333	56.34%
Proportion per 100k	0.08	0.11	37.5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Jemal

In the realm of ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals interesting shifts within the Jemal surname holders. Between 2000 and 2010, there were no individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native. Individuals identifying as two or more races disappeared entirely from the 2010 census after making up 2.35% in 2000. However, the Hispanic representation saw a rise of approximately 44%, from 3.76% to 5.41%. The most significant change occurred within the Black community, which saw an increase from 24.41% to 43.84%. Meanwhile, those identifying as White decreased by 26.46%, moving from 69.01% to 50.75% over the ten-year period.

	2000	2010	Change
White	69.01%	50.75%	-26.46%
Black	24.41%	43.84%	79.6%
Hispanic	3.76%	5.41%	43.88%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	2.35%	0%	-100%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%