Fatuma
A feminine Arabic name meaning "a weaner of infants".
Name Census estimates that about 571 living Americans carry the first name Fatuma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fatuma today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fatuma births was 2013 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fatuma. 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 Fatuma with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
571
~ 1 in 600,270 Americans
Peak year
2013
36 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,048
Tracked since 1991
Census
Fatuma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,482 people with the first name Fatuma, which placed it at #6,461 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
#6,461
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,482 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fatuma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fatuma is Black at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Fatuma 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 Fatuma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.9% · 2,406
- White1.1% · 27
- Two or more races0.9% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Fatuma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fatuma 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 266 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Fatuma remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fatuma 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 Fatuma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fatumas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Minnesota, Kentucky, New York recorded the most babies named Fatuma, while Texas, Ohio, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fatuma
The name Fatuma has its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture. It is a feminine form of the name Fatih, derived from the Arabic root word "fataha," which means "to open" or "to conquer." The name is believed to have emerged in the 7th century during the era of the Islamic conquests and the spread of the religion across the Arabian Peninsula and beyond.
Fatuma is also closely linked to the name Fatimah, which was the name of one of the daughters of the Prophet Muhammad. Fatimah, who lived from 605 to 632 CE, was revered for her piety, intelligence, and devotion to her faith. Her name is often used as a source of inspiration and a symbol of virtue within the Islamic tradition.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Fatuma can be found in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. In Surah 28, verse 76, the name is mentioned in the context of a parable about wealth and humility.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Fatuma. One such person was Fatuma Massaquoi, a Liberian educator and activist who lived from 1912 to 1978. She played a significant role in promoting women's education and empowerment in her country.
Another prominent figure was Fatuma Zahra, an 18th-century Sudanese poet and scholar. She was renowned for her contributions to Arabic literature and her expertise in various fields, including theology, law, and linguistics.
In the 19th century, Fatuma bint Said bin Sultan Al-Said was the daughter of the Sultan of Oman and Zanzibar. She played a crucial role in the political and social affairs of the region during her lifetime, which spanned from 1823 to 1878.
Fatuma Mernissi, a Moroccan sociologist and writer, was also a notable figure who lived from 1940 to 2015. She was a pioneering feminist scholar and an influential voice in the study of gender and Islam.
Lastly, Fatuma Diarra, a Malian singer and songwriter, has made significant contributions to the world of music. Born in 1950, she has been celebrated for her captivating voice and her efforts in preserving the traditional music of Mali.
People
Fatuma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fatuma 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
Fatuma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fatuma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 571 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fatuma 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 600,270 US residents.
Is Fatuma a common name?
We classify Fatuma as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 577 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fatuma most popular?
The single biggest year for Fatuma was 2013, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fatuma 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 Fatuma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,482 people with the name Fatuma, or 0.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,461 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 Fatuma 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 Fatuma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fatuma appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,479 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 Fatuma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fatuma is Black at 96.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Fatuma most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Fatuma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.9% (2,406 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 Fatuma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fatuma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fatuma 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 Fatuma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fatuma 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 Fatuma 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 Fatuma?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.