Fadel
A masculine Arabic name meaning "superiority" or "excellence".
Name Census estimates that about 208 living Americans carry the first name Fadel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fadel today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fadel births was 2017 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fadel. 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 Fadel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
208
~ 1 in 1,647,857 Americans
Peak year
2017
16 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,234
Tracked since 1996
Census
Fadel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 504 people with the first name Fadel, which placed it at #20,488 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
#20,488
National first-name rank
People counted
504
504 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fadel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fadel is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (13.3%) and Two or More Races (7.5%). 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 Fadel 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 Fadel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.8% · 367
- Black or African American13.3% · 67
- Two or more races7.5% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 6
Popularity
Fadel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fadel 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 99 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Fadel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fadel 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 Fadel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fadels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Fadel
The name Fadel has its origins in Arabic, derived from the root word "fadl," which means "grace," "virtue," or "excellence." It is a masculine name that has been popular in the Arab world for centuries.
The earliest recorded use of the name Fadel can be traced back to the 7th century, during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. One of the companions of the prophet was named Fadl ibn Abbas, who was known for his knowledge and wisdom.
In Islamic literature, the name Fadel is mentioned in several hadiths (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) and is often associated with qualities such as generosity, kindness, and righteousness. The Quran also mentions the concept of "fadl," emphasizing the importance of seeking knowledge and wisdom.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Fadel. One of the most famous was Fadel ibn Yahya al-Barmaki, a Persian vizier (prime minister) who served under the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid in the 8th century. He was known for his wisdom, diplomacy, and patronage of the arts and sciences.
Another prominent figure was Fadel ibn Ja'far al-Khazin, a 10th-century Arab mathematician and astronomer from Baghdad. He made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry and wrote several influential treatises on mathematics and astronomy.
In the 12th century, Fadel ibn al-Hasan al-Tabrizi was a renowned Persian poet and scholar who wrote extensively on topics ranging from philosophy to astronomy. His works were widely celebrated and influential in the Islamic world.
During the Mamluk period in Egypt (13th-16th centuries), Fadel ibn Ali al-Malik was a prominent military commander and governor. He played a crucial role in defending Egypt against the Crusaders and was known for his bravery and strategic skills.
In more recent times, Fadel Shaker, born in 1969, is a popular Lebanese singer and composer who has gained widespread recognition across the Arab world for his contributions to modern Arabic music.
Overall, the name Fadel has a rich history and cultural significance, reflecting the values of excellence, virtue, and wisdom that have been cherished in the Arab and Islamic traditions for centuries.
People
Fadel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fadel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fadel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fadel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 208 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fadel 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 1,647,857 US residents.
Is Fadel a common name?
We classify Fadel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 210 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fadel most popular?
The single biggest year for Fadel was 2017, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fadel is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fadel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 504 people with the name Fadel, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,488 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 Fadel 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 Fadel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fadel leans strongly male. 491 people counted with this name were male (97.8%), compared with 11 female bearers (2.2%). 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 Fadel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fadel is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (13.3%) and Two or More Races (7.5%). 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 Fadel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fadel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.8% (367 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 Fadel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fadel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fadel 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 Fadel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fadel 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 Fadel 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 are named Fadel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.