Browse Names - Behind the Name

Jabari m African American (Modern)
Means "almighty, powerful" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic جبّار (jabbār). It started to be used by African-American parents after it was featured in a 1973 nation-wide newspaper article about African baby names.

Jalen m African American (Modern)
An invented name. In America it was popularized in the 1990s by basketball player Jalen Rose (1973-), whose name was a combination of those of his father James and maternal uncle Leonard.

Jaliyah f African American (Modern)
An invented name, based on the sound of Aaliyah.

Jamaal m Arabic, African American
Alternate transcription of Arabic جمال (see Jamal).

Jamaar m African American (Rare)
Variant of Jamar.

Jamal m Arabic, Urdu, Indonesian, Malay, African American
Means "beauty" in Arabic, from the root جمل (jamala) meaning "to be beautiful".

Jamar m African American
Invented name, based on the sounds found in names such as Jamal and Lamar. It has been in general use in America since the 1970s.

JaMarcus m African American
Combination of the popular phonetic prefix ja and Marcus.

Jamari m African American (Modern)
Elaborated form of Jamar, sharing a sound with names such as Amari and Kamari.

Jamarion m African American
Combination of the popular phonetic prefix ja and Marion 2. It can also be seen as an elaboration of Jamar.

Jamir m African American (Modern)
Variant of Jamar, probably influenced by names such as Jamil.

Janiya f African American (Modern)
Variant of Janiyah.

Janiyah f African American (Modern)
An invented name, blending the popular phonetic prefix ja with names like Shania and Aaliyah.

Jaquan m African American (Modern)
Combination of the phonetic elements ja and quan. It can be spelled JaQuan or Jaquan.

Jaren m English (Modern), African American (Modern)
Variant of Jaron 2.

Jaron 2 m English (Modern), African American (Modern)
Invented name, probably based on the sounds of names such as Jared and Darren.

Javion m African American (Modern)
Invented name, using the sounds found in names such as Javon and Davion.

Javon m African American (Modern)
Combination of the phonetic elements ja or jay and von.

Javonte m African American (Modern)
Combination of the phonetic elements ja, von and tay.

Jaylen m & f African American (Modern), English (Modern)
Variant of Jalen (masculine) or Jaylynn (feminine).

Jaylin m & f African American (Modern), English (Modern), Dutch (Modern)
Variant of Jalen (masculine) or Jaylynn (feminine).

Jaylon m African American (Modern)
Variant of Jalen.

Jelani m & f African American (Modern)
This name began to be used rarely in the United States in 1973 after it was featured in a nation-wide newspaper article about African baby names. It probably represents the Arabic name Jilani, given in honour of the Sufi scholar Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (the meaning quoted by the newspaper article ("mighty") coincides with the meaning of Qadir).... [more]

Jermaine m African American
Variant of Germain. This name rapidly increased in popularity in the early 1970s as a result of the newfound fame of Jermaine Jackson (1954-), a member of the singing group The Jackson 5.

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