Emad
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "pillar" or "support".
Name Census estimates that about 788 living Americans carry the first name Emad. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Emad today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Emad births was 2023 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Emad. 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 Emad with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
788
~ 1 in 434,967 Americans
Peak year
2023
36 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,532
Tracked since 1971
Census
Emad in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,589 people with the first name Emad, which placed it at #4,951 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
#4,951
National first-name rank
People counted
3.6K
3,589 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Emad
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Emad is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Emad 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 Emad at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 3,063
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.8% · 244
- Two or more races4.5% · 162
- Black or African American2.6% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Emad: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Emad from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 213 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Emad remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Emad 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 Emad during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Emads live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Michigan, New York recorded the most babies named Emad, while Texas, New York, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Emad
The name Emad has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "Imad," which means "support" or "pillar." The name is thought to have first emerged during the medieval period in the Middle East and North Africa.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Emad can be found in the writings of the famous Arab poet and philosopher, Abu al-Ala al-Maʿarri (973-1057 CE). In his work, he mentions an individual named Emad al-Din, which translates to "Pillar of the Faith."
During the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE), the name Emad gained popularity among the intellectual and political elite. One notable figure was Emad al-Mulk al-Isfahani (1119-1189 CE), a prominent vizier and statesman who served under the Seljuk Sultan Sanjar.
Another historical figure with the name Emad was Emad al-Din Zengi (1085-1146 CE), a prominent military leader and the founder of the Zengid dynasty. He played a significant role in the struggle against the Crusaders in the Levant region.
In the 13th century, the name Emad was associated with the famous Islamic philosopher and polymath, Emad al-Din al-Isfahani (1201-1274 CE). He was renowned for his contributions to various fields, including logic, mathematics, and astronomy.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Emad remained popular among the ruling class and scholars. One notable figure was Emad al-Din al-Isfahani (1506-1588 CE), a renowned Sufi scholar and poet who was highly respected for his spiritual teachings.
Throughout history, the name Emad has been carried by numerous individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, poets, statesmen, and military leaders. While the name has maintained its historical roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among Muslim communities.
People
Emad + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Emad as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Emad: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Emad?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 788 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Emad 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 434,967 US residents.
Is Emad a common name?
We classify Emad as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 805 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Emad most popular?
The single biggest year for Emad was 2023, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Emad is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Emad in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,589 people with the name Emad, or 1.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,951 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 Emad 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 Emad?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Emad appears almost entirely male. Of the 3,585 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Emad?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Emad is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Emad most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Emad in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (3,063 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 Emad in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Emad a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Emad 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 Emad still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Emad 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 Emad 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 Americans are named Emad?
See how many Americans are named Emad on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.