Ayub
A masculine Arabic and Hebrew name meaning "serene" or "patient one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,535 living Americans carry the first name Ayub. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ayub today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ayub births was 2018 (94 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ayub. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Ayub with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Ayub is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 223,293 Americans
Peak year
2018
94 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,165
Tracked since 1996
Census
Ayub in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,533 people with the first name Ayub, which placed it at #9,185 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,185
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,533 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ayub
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ayub is Black at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.7%) and White (5.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ayub described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ayub at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.2% · 1,091
- Asian and Pacific Islander18.7% · 286
- White5.9% · 90
- Two or more races2.6% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 4
Popularity
Ayub: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ayub from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 743 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ayub remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ayub by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ayub during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ayubs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Minnesota, Ohio, Washington recorded the most babies named Ayub, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 70 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ayub
The name Ayub has its origins in the Arabic language and is derived from the biblical name Job. The name can be traced back to the ancient Semitic languages and is believed to have originated around the 6th century BCE.
The meaning of the name Ayub is often associated with patience, endurance, and perseverance. This is likely a reference to the biblical story of Job, a righteous man who faced numerous trials and tribulations but remained steadfast in his faith.
In the Book of Job, which is part of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, Ayub (Job) is depicted as a wealthy and pious man who is tested by God with a series of calamities, including the loss of his possessions, his children, and his health. Despite these hardships, Ayub remains patient and faithful, and his story is often seen as an allegory for the human condition and the struggle to maintain faith in the face of adversity.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ayub can be found in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. In the Quran, Ayub is mentioned as a prophet and is revered for his patience and perseverance in the face of trials. The story of Ayub is a significant part of Islamic tradition and is often cited as an example of steadfastness and trust in God.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Ayub. One of the most famous was Ayub Khan (1907-1974), a Pakistani military officer and politician who served as the second President of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969.
Another notable figure was Ayub Khalifa (1897-1972), an Egyptian writer and playwright who is considered one of the pioneers of modern Arabic literature. His works often explored themes of social justice and the struggles of the working class.
In the realm of sports, Ayub Kalule (born 1968) is a former Ugandan boxer who won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 1994 Commonwealth Games.
Ayub Khan Ommaya (1932-2008) was a Pakistani-American neurosurgeon who is credited with inventing the Ommaya reservoir, a medical device used for the treatment of certain brain disorders.
Ayub Bachchu (1962-2018) was a renowned Bangladeshi rock musician and singer-songwriter, often referred to as the "Rock Guru" of Bangladesh. He was a pioneering figure in the country's rock music scene and was instrumental in popularizing the genre.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Ayub, each leaving their mark in various fields and disciplines.
People
Ayub + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ayub as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ayub: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ayub?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,535 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ayub going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 223,293 US residents.
Is Ayub a common name?
We classify Ayub as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,549 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ayub most popular?
The single biggest year for Ayub was 2018, when 94 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ayub is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ayub in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,533 people with the name Ayub, or 0.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,185 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ayub in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ayub?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ayub appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,533 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ayub?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ayub is Black at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (18.7%) and White (5.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ayub most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ayub in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.2% (1,091 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Ayub in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ayub a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ayub in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Ayub still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ayub in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Ayub can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Ayub as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Ayub on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.