| Jamal | Ahmad | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beauty, handsome | most praiseworthy |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | juh-MAHL | AH-mad |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1946 | 1950 |
| Peak year | 1993 (1,245) | 2001 (662) |
| In 2025 | 169 | 407 |
| Trend | Declining | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Jamal | Ahmad |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,268 | 2,462 |
| 2010s | 3,266 | 4,713 |
| 2000s | 5,898 | 5,387 |
| 1990s | 10,265 | 3,923 |
| 1980s | 7,187 | 2,314 |
| 1970s | 4,691 | 1,287 |
| 1960s | 558 | 205 |
| 1950s | 91 | 57 |
| 1940s | 11 | 0 |
From Arabic جمال (jamāl), the abstract noun 'beauty', from the root j-m-l. Jamal is the masculine name built directly on this root and is well established as 'beauty' or 'handsome'.
From the root h-m-d (ح-م-د, 'to praise'), a superlative meaning 'most praiseworthy, most commendable'. It shares its root with the name Muhammad and is itself cited as one of the names of the Prophet. Also spelled Ahmed.
Ahmad is more popular than Jamal today: about 407 US babies were given the name Ahmad in 2025, compared with 169 named Jamal.
Jamal means Beauty, handsome (arabic origin), while Ahmad means most praiseworthy (arabic origin).
In US records, Jamal first appears in 1946 and Ahmad in 1950, so Jamal has the longer recorded history.