Fahima
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "having understanding" or "intelligent".
Name Census estimates that about 199 living Americans carry the first name Fahima. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fahima today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fahima births was 2014 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fahima. 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 Fahima with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
199
~ 1 in 1,722,384 Americans
Peak year
2014
14 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,390
Tracked since 1997
Census
Fahima in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,055 people with the first name Fahima, which placed it at #11,962 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
#11,962
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,055 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
57.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fahima
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fahima is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.3%. The next largest groups are White (16.6%) and Black (15.9%). 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 Fahima 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 Fahima at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander57.3% · 605
- White16.6% · 175
- Black or African American15.9% · 168
- Two or more races9.2% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Fahima: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fahima 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 86 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Fahima remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fahima 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 Fahima during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fahimas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Fahima
The name Fahima is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic root word "fahm," which means "understanding" or "comprehension." This suggests that the name Fahima may have been given to individuals who were perceived as intelligent or insightful.
The earliest recorded use of the name Fahima can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the early years of the Islamic era. It was a relatively common name among Arab communities, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa regions.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Fahima was Fahima bint Amr al-Ansariya, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad who lived in the 7th century CE. She was known for her wisdom and knowledge of Islamic teachings.
Another notable figure from history was Fahima al-Fahhamiyya, a 9th-century Arab poet and scholar from Baghdad. She was renowned for her literary works and her expertise in various fields, including poetry, grammar, and Islamic jurisprudence.
In the 11th century, Fahima al-Waziriyya was a prominent female scholar and poet from Baghdad. She was highly respected for her intellectual contributions and her mastery of Arabic literature and Islamic sciences.
During the 12th century, Fahima bint Ibrahim al-Ansari was a celebrated Sufi mystic and scholar from Egypt. She was known for her spiritual teachings and her significant contributions to the development of Sufism in the region.
In more recent history, Fahima Masri was a Palestinian writer and activist who lived from 1924 to 2008. She was a prominent figure in the Palestinian literary scene and was known for her advocacy for women's rights and social justice.
While the name Fahima has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions over time, reflecting its enduring appeal and the diverse backgrounds of those who bear this name.
People
Fahima + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fahima 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
Fahima: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fahima?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 199 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fahima 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 1,722,384 US residents.
Is Fahima a common name?
We classify Fahima as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 201 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fahima most popular?
The single biggest year for Fahima was 2014, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fahima 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 Fahima in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,055 people with the name Fahima, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,962 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 Fahima 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 Fahima?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fahima appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,059 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Fahima?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fahima is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.3%. The next largest groups are White (16.6%) and Black (15.9%). 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 Fahima most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Fahima in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.3% (605 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 Fahima in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fahima a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fahima in the SSA data are female. 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 Fahima still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fahima 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 Fahima 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 share the name Fahima?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.