Fatimah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "the one who abstains" or "the weaner".
Name Census estimates that about 3,505 living Americans carry the first name Fatimah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fatimah today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fatimah births was 2020 (129 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fatimah. 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 Fatimah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 97,790 Americans
Peak year
2020
129 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,305
Tracked since 1959
Census
Fatimah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,776 people with the first name Fatimah, which placed it at #4,788 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
#4,788
National first-name rank
People counted
3.8K
3,776 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
37.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fatimah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fatimah is Black at 37.1%. The next largest groups are White (34.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.4%). 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 Fatimah 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 Fatimah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American37.1% · 1,400
- White34.5% · 1,301
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.4% · 658
- Two or more races6.6% · 249
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 160
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Popularity
Fatimah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fatimah from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,019 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Fatimah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fatimah 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 Fatimah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fatimahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Fatimah, while Colorado, South Carolina, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 105 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fatimah
The name Fatimah is derived from the Arabic word "fatama," which means "to be weaned." The name has been in use since the 7th century CE and originates from the Arabic culture and language.
Fatimah is a highly revered name in Islam, as it was the name of the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. She was born in Mecca around 615 CE and was known for her piety, intelligence, and generosity. Fatimah is considered to be one of the most important figures in Islamic history and is regarded as a role model for Muslim women.
The name Fatimah first appeared in religious texts, such as the Quran and Hadith, which are the primary sources of Islamic teachings. In these texts, Fatimah is described as a virtuous and righteous woman who played a significant role in the early days of Islam.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Fatimah can be found in the writings of Islamic scholars and historians from the 7th and 8th centuries CE. These writings provide detailed accounts of Fatimah's life and her contributions to the Islamic faith.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Fatimah. One of the most famous was Fatimah al-Zahra (615-632 CE), the daughter of Prophet Muhammad and wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph of Islam. She is revered as a symbol of purity and righteousness in Islamic tradition.
Another notable Fatimah was Fatimah al-Batoul (605-632 CE), the sister of Ali ibn Abi Talib and a prominent figure in early Islamic history. She was known for her devotion to Islam and her support of her brother's cause.
Fatimah bint Muhammad al-Arabi (1165-1240 CE) was a renowned Sufi mystic and poet from Spain. Her writings, which focused on spiritual enlightenment and the love of God, were influential in the development of Sufi literature.
Fatimah Jinnah (1893-1967) was a Pakistani politician and diplomat who played a crucial role in the independence movement of Pakistan. She was known as the "Mother of the Nation" and was a strong advocate for women's rights and education.
Fatimah Mernissi (1940-2015) was a Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist who wrote extensively on the role of women in Islamic societies. Her works, such as "Beyond the Veil" and "The Forgotten Queens of Islam," challenged traditional interpretations of Islam and advocated for greater gender equality.
People
Fatimah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fatimah 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
Fatimah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fatimah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,505 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fatimah 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 97,790 US residents.
Is Fatimah a common name?
We classify Fatimah as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,608 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fatimah most popular?
The single biggest year for Fatimah was 2020, when 129 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fatimah is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fatimah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,776 people with the name Fatimah, or 1.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,788 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 Fatimah 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 Fatimah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fatimah appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,776 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Fatimah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fatimah is Black at 37.1%. The next largest groups are White (34.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.4%). 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 Fatimah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Fatimah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.1% (1,400 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 Fatimah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fatimah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fatimah 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 Fatimah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fatimah 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 Fatimah 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 common is the name Fatimah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.