| Jamal | Ali | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Beauty, handsome | Exalted, noble |
| Origin | arabic | Arabic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | juh-MAHL | AH-lee |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1946 | 1914 |
| Peak year | 1993 (1,245) | 2022 (1,124) |
| In 2025 | 169 | 1,116 |
| Trend | Declining | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Jamal | Ali |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,268 | 6,347 |
| 2010s | 3,266 | 9,865 |
| 2000s | 5,898 | 7,735 |
| 1990s | 10,265 | 5,140 |
| 1980s | 7,187 | 2,846 |
| 1970s | 4,691 | 1,733 |
| 1960s | 558 | 408 |
| 1950s | 91 | 166 |
| 1940s | 11 | 65 |
| 1930s | 0 | 50 |
| 1920s | 0 | 23 |
| 1910s | 0 | 5 |
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'.
Ali means “exalted,” “noble” or “sublime” in Arabic.
Ali is more popular than Jamal today: about 1,116 US babies were given the name Ali in 2025, compared with 169 named Jamal.
Jamal means Beauty, handsome (arabic origin), while Ali means Exalted, noble (Arabic origin).
In US records, Jamal first appears in 1946 and Ali in 1914, so Ali has the longer recorded history.