Given name
Jamila
“a beautiful and elegant lady”
Jamila is a variant of Jameelah. One Arabic interpretation is “a beautiful and elegant lady.”
Original Arabicجَمِيلَة
Meaning & origin
What it means
Jamila is a variant of Jameelah. One Arabic interpretation is “a beautiful and elegant lady.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
How it developed
From Arabic جَمِيلَة (“beautiful”); its root is Arabic ج م ل.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1962. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Jamila through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8,322
- 0 boys · 8,322 girls
- Most popular year
- 1977
- 418 babies
- 2025
- 122
- #1,686 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −2%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 122 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,686 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 2.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 418 in 1977. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (13). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,585 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jamila’s family of names
In English usage, Jamila has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form YAMILE. Jamila has a related form in Jameel. Jamila has a related form in Jameelah.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jamila has relatives in 10 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.
Arabicwhere Jamila comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 10
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- جَمِيلَةArabic
- Jamillaequivalent
- YamileSpanish
- Jamillahequivalent
- DžamilaCzech
- Джамиля́Russian
- DżamilaPolish
- GiamilaItalian
Show 2 moreShow fewer
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Jamila
- Jamila Afghanifeminist and women's rights activist in Afghanistanborn 1976
- Jamila al-ShantiPalestinian politician1957–2023
- Jemila AbdulaiGhanaian digital strategist and content creatorborn 1986
- Jamila Abbascomputer scientist, software engineer, businesswoman and entrepreneur in Kenya.born 1984
- Jamila GordonSomali Australian entrepreneurborn 1980
- Gameela IsmailEgyptian Journalist, Politician and chairwoman of constitution partyborn 1966
- Jamila SchäferGerman politicianborn 1993
- Jamila Bio IbrahimNigerian medical doctor and politicianborn 1986
- Jamila Ksiksimwanasiasa wa Tunisia1968–2022
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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