How popular is the baby name Jamal in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Jamal.

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Popularity of the baby name Jamal


Posts that mention the name Jamal

Where did the baby name Jemal come from in 1968?

Jemal David, character from TV show "The Outcasts"
Jemal David of “The Outcasts”

The name Jemal debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1968:

  • 1972: 24 baby boys named Jemal
  • 1971: 30 baby boys named Jemal
  • 1970: 52 baby boys named Jemal
  • 1969: 204 baby boys named Jemal [rank: 549th]
  • 1968: 47 baby boys named Jemal [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted

In fact, it was the top debut name of 1968. The next year, it became one of the highest-charting single-appearance baby names in the U.S. top 1,000 — the very highest for boys, if you ignore the glitch-name Christop.

So what was the influence?

Jemal David, an African-American character played by actor Otis Young on the single-season TV western The Outcasts (1968-1969).

The series was set in the decade following the Civil War, when “people of all creeds and colors were part of the West” (according to the narrated introduction). The two protagonists, both bounty hunters, were an unlikely pair: Jemal, an ex-slave freed by the Proclamation, and Earl Corey, a former slave owner from Virginia.

Young’s Jemal David was possibly television’s angriest African American protagonist; a defiant man who refused to forget the indignities and humiliations of slavery. He also never let his partner’s racism go unchallenged.

There was even an episode called “My name is Jemal” that drew extra attention to the name:

my name is jemal, the outsiders, television, 1960s

The similar name Jamal also saw a big boost in usage thanks to the character. But, unlike Jemal, which quickly petered out, Jamal’s usage continued to increase for several decades.

What are your thoughts on the name Jemal? Which spelling do you prefer?

Sources:

  • Bogle, Donald. Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.
  • The Outcasts (TV series) – Wikipedia
  • Terrace, Vincent. Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings since 1949. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2014.

“Empire” baby name predictions: Cookie? Jussie?

Cookie, Empire

The first season of hit drama Empire aired from January through March of this year.

The show’s audience grew bigger and bigger with each successive episode (no small feat!) and the first-season finale was the most successful of “any new series on any broadcast network” since the first-season finale of Grey’s Anatomy back in 2005.

I think the show — which will be back on the air with new episodes in September — could have a big impact on baby names in 2015. Some Empire names to keep an eye on:

  • Taraji, for actress Taraji P. Henson.
  • Cookie, for character Cookie Lyon. This name was last on the SSA’s list in the early 1990s, but the character is giving the name Cookie a whole new image, so…will it be back in 2015?
  • Lyon, for the family surname.
  • Lucious, for character Lucious Lyon. It gets a fraction of the usage that Lucius gets, but could this character change that?
  • Lola, for character Lola Lyon. Not a major character, but extremely adorable — and when it comes to names, that’s sometimes all that matters.
  • Trai, for actor Trai Byers.

And three names that might debut on the SSA’a list in 2015…

  • Bryshere, for actor Bryshere Y. Gray.
  • Jussie, for actor Jussie Smollett. Smollett has been in and out the spotlight for a long time now, and his name has never made the list, but maybe this will change in 2015. (His character, Jamal, is probably the most likable person on the show.)
  • Empire, for the show itself. This one might seem improbable, but I wouldn’t count it out as similar names (e.g., King, Kingdom, Emperor, Sire, Sovereign) do exist.

What are your thoughts on the names in Empire? Did I miss any good ones?

Sources: Empire – Wikipedia, ‘Empire’ strikes back as season’s hottest show, ‘Empire’ Finale Ratings Rise Even More, Best New Series Result In 10 Years – Update

P.S. Actor Terrence Howard, who plays Lucious, recently welcomed a son named Qirin. The name was derived from qilin, the name of a mythical Chinese creature.

How did “The Cosby Show” influence baby names in the 1980s?

The characters Vanessa, Theo, Rudy, Denise, and Sondra Huxtable from "The Cosby Show" (1984-1992).
The kids of the “The Cosby Show“

Remember The Cosby Show?

The ground-breaking ’80s sitcom focused on the Huxtables, a well-off African-American family living in New York City. It starred Bill Cosby as Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable.

The show ran from 1984 to 1992, and was the top-rated program in the nation for five consecutive seasons (1985, ’86, ’87, ’88, and ’89).

And it influenced a whole bunch of baby names, such as…

Vanessa & Tempestt

Vanessa, the second-youngest Huxtable child, was played by Tempestt Bledsoe. The baby name Vanessa saw its highest-ever levels of usage during the years the show was on:

  • 1989: 6,955 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 50th)
  • 1988: 7,515 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 41st)
  • 1987: 7,345 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 43rd)
  • 1986: 7,367 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 43rd)
  • 1985: 7,562 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 42nd)
  • 1984: 7,153 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 45th)
  • 1983: 6,383 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 49th)

And the baby name Tempestt debuted on the charts the year after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 70 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1989: 98 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1988: 72 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1987: 87 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1986: 78 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1985: 36 baby girls named Tempestt [debut]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

The name Tempest also got a boost during the last half of the ’80s.

Rudy & Keshia

Rudith “Rudy” Huxtable, the baby of the family, was played by Keshia Knight Pulliam. The baby name Keshia entered the top 1,000 for the very first time the year after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 385 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 594th)
  • 1989: 496 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 479th)
  • 1988: 398 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 547th)
  • 1987: 483 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 457th)
  • 1986: 511 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 426th)
  • 1985: 321 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 596th)
  • 1984: 96 baby girls named Keshia
  • 1983: 64 baby girls named Keshia

The name Rudy also rose in usage, and the variant spelling Rudi debuted on the charts in 1985.

Phylicia

Huxtable mother Clair was played by actress Phylicia Rashad. The baby name Phylicia entered the top 1,000 for the first time two years after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 257 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 787th)
  • 1989: 265 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 744th)
  • 1988: 286 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 679th)
  • 1987: 290 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 649th)
  • 1986: 213 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 789th)
  • 1985: 122 baby girls named Phylicia
  • 1984: 13 baby girls named Phylicia
  • 1983: 7 baby girls named Phylicia

Theo & Malcolm-Jamal

Theo, the middle Huxtable child (and the only male in the family besides Cliff) was played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The baby name Theo almost tripled in usage the year after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 66 baby boys named Theo
  • 1989: 75 baby boys named Theo
  • 1988: 77 baby boys named Theo
  • 1987: 75 baby boys named Theo
  • 1986: 85 baby boys named Theo
  • 1985: 76 baby boys named Theo
  • 1984: 23 baby boys named Theo
  • 1983: 26 baby boys named Theo

Usage of the baby name Malcolm also began to rise in the mid-’80s, and the baby name Malcolm-Jamal (rendered Malcolmjamal by the SSA, which leaves off hyphens) debuted on the baby name charts two years after the show premiered:

  • 1990: unlisted
  • 1989: unlisted
  • 1988: 5 baby boys named Malcolm-Jamal
  • 1987: unlisted
  • 1986: 5 baby boys named Malcolm-Jamal [debut]
  • 1985: unlisted
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

(Where did actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner get his name, btw? He was named after civil rights activist Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.)

So now here’s the question: Does The Cosby Show beat Family Ties in terms of impact on the baby name charts? Cosby clearly affected a greater number of names, but is that enough to offset the massive rises of both Mallory and Alex?

P.S. Did you know that Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy Huxtable were loosely based on Cosby’s real-life children, named Erika, Erinn, Ennis, Ensa, and Evin?

Image: © 1984 NBC

Baby name story: Facebook

A man in Egypt has named his newborn daughter Facebook to commemorate the social network’s role in bringing about the recent Egyptian Revolution — “the revolution that started on Facebook,” according to Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram.

The baby girl’s full name is Facebook Jamal Ibrahim.

Sources: Report: Egyptian dad names child ‘Facebook’, To Celebrate The #Jan25 Revolution, Egyptian Names His Firstborn “Facebook”