Unisex name · since 1973
Jelani
4,718 babies named Jelani in U.S. Social Security records since 1973, with the highest year being 1998. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,851 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,155 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,718
- born since 1973
- 2000s
- peak decade
Yes -- Jelani is the #2155 most popular unisex name in the U.S. today, with 4,718 recorded since 1973.
Jelani has 4,718 recorded births among boys since 1973, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2155 as of the latest data, more common than 85% of boys, busiest in the 2000s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1973 to 2025.
- #1,851 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #2,155 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 4,718 born since 1973
- 2000s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Jelani ranks #1,851 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,155 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 4,718 born since 1973, peaking in the 2000s.
- #1,851 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,155 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,718
- born since 1973
- 2000s
- peak decade
Jelani's 4,718 recorded births place it above 95.93% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
21 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Jelani compares
4,718 Top 13% higher than 87% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Jelani's all-time total is 13x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Jelani | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 4,718 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 151 | 34 | 22,252 |
Jelani's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Jelani splits its recorded history at 1999: 59% of all births land in the more recent half, 41% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1973 (36 births) -- compare that against the 1998 peak of 151 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Jelani popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1973–2025
- Peak year (1998)
- 151
- Annual births at peak, across 53 years of records
Jelani popularity over time - girls
942 total births recorded since 1975 (Jelani as girls' name)
Jelani by decade
2000s is the heaviest window (1,161 births, 25% of the file).
2000s was Jelani's strongest decade.
1,161 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 25% of all-time use.
Jelani births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1970s 387
1970s
387 births
- 1980s
1980s
548 births
- 1990s
1990s
1,101 births
- 2000s
2000s
1,161 births
- 2010s
2010s
909 births
- 2020s
2020s
612 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 1,161 births (25% of all-time use).
How Jelani compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Jelani's total volume
Jelani by state
Where Jelani concentrates geographically, total births since 1973
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 799 | 16.9% |
| #2 | California | | 562 | 11.9% |
| #3 | Florida | | 294 | 6.2% |
| #4 | Georgia | | 263 | 5.6% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 173 | 3.7% |
| #6 | Texas | | 127 | 2.7% |
| #7 | North Carolina | | 104 | 2.2% |
| #8 | Maryland | | 84 | 1.8% |
799 of 4,718 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 21 reporting states.
Jelani appears in 21 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Jelani's data
- Jelani's usage has stayed within range of its 2000s decade-level peak (1,161 total births) through the 2020s (612) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- New York records the most Jelanis (799 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Jelani
Nearby Names Like Jelani
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Jelani
Compare Jelani side by side: Jelani vs Jelan Jelani vs Jelon Jelani vs Jelen
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Jelani
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Jelani: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1998)
Similar record span (~52 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1973–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Jelani draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.