Habib
Beloved, dear, or darling, an Arabic masculine name of endearment.
Name Census estimates that about 898 living Americans carry the first name Habib. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Habib today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Habib births was 2019 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Habib. 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 Habib with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
898
~ 1 in 381,686 Americans
Peak year
2019
39 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,470
Tracked since 1972
Census
Habib in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,484 people with the first name Habib, which placed it at #6,456 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
#6,456
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,484 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
41.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Habib
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Habib is White at 41.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.5%) and Black (19.3%). 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 Habib 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 Habib at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.9% · 1,041
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.5% · 684
- Black or African American19.3% · 479
- Two or more races6.2% · 154
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 121
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Popularity
Habib: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Habib 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 233 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Habib remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Habib 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 Habib during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Habibs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Habib, while Washington, Texas, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Habib
The name Habib has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "habib", which means "beloved" or "dear one". The name has been in use since ancient times and is deeply rooted in the Islamic tradition.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Habib can be found in various Islamic texts and historical records. One of the most notable references is in the Qur'an, where it is mentioned as one of the attributes of Prophet Muhammad. The name also appears in various Hadith literature, which are the recorded sayings and traditions of the Prophet.
Throughout history, there have been numerous notable figures who bore the name Habib. One of the most famous was Habib al-Ajami (d. 737 CE), a renowned Muslim scholar and theologian from Basra, Iraq. Another prominent individual was Habib al-Faqih (d. 809 CE), a jurist and scholar from Kufa, Iraq.
In the 11th century, Habib al-Rahman al-Masri (d. 1094 CE) was a prominent Sufi saint and spiritual leader from Egypt. He is known for his contributions to the Shadhili Sufi order and his influence on Islamic mysticism.
During the Mamluk period in Egypt, Habib ibn Abi al-Bayya' (d. 1286 CE) was a respected poet and scholar who served as the chief judge of Cairo.
In more recent times, Habib Bourguiba (1903-2000) was a prominent Tunisian statesman and the first president of independent Tunisia, serving from 1957 to 1987.
The name Habib has also been widely used across various regions and cultures influenced by Islam, including parts of the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. While its popularity may have fluctuated over time, the name remains deeply rooted in Islamic tradition and holds significant historical and cultural significance.
People
Habib + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Habib as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Habib: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Habib?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 898 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Habib 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 381,686 US residents.
Is Habib a common name?
We classify Habib as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 915 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Habib most popular?
The single biggest year for Habib was 2019, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Habib is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Habib in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,484 people with the name Habib, or 0.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,456 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 Habib 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 Habib?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Habib leans strongly male. 2,459 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 31 female bearers (1.2%). 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 Habib?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Habib is White at 41.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.5%) and Black (19.3%). 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 Habib most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Habib in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.9% (1,041 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 Habib in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Habib a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Habib 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 Habib still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Habib 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 Habib 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 have the name Habib?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.