How rare is the name Jelani?

3,900 people in the United States have the first name Jelani, about 1 in 77,444. It ranks #4,678 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

JELANI

#4,678

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
3,900
About
1 in 77,444
This common or more
84.4%
Who bears it

Of the 3,900 people named Jelani, 79.7% reported their origin as Black, 8.8% as Hispanic or Latino and 7.9% as two or more races. 89.4% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Jelani peaked in 2023, when 218 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19732025
Peak year
2023
Births that year
218
In 2025*
134 ▼39%
Recorded as
mostly male

At least 5,660 babies have been given the name since 1973. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Jelani by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1990s, when it ranked #2,328. The largest share of babies named Jelani, 36.7%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1970s#3,432393
1980s#3,108577
1990s#2,3281,243
2000s#2,7541,309
2010s#3,3231,107
2020s#2,4691,031
Generation X 1965–808.3%
Millennials 1981–9623.1%
Generation Z 1997–1236.7%
2013 and later31.9%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Jelani is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Jelani has been most common in New York (3.7×), Georgia (3.6×), and Florida (3.3×), and least common in Pennsylvania (0.22×).

3,019 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Jelani

#4,676 Bonifacio · 3,903#4,677 Mariama · 3,901#4,679 Reign · 3,899#4,680 Aubry · 3,898

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Jelani, most common first.

#44,236 Jelan · 157

Also a last name

As a last name, Jelani ranks #136,807 of 156,621, with 127 people. See Jelani as a last name

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