Haneef
A masculine Arabic name meaning "true follower of Islamic faith."
Name Census estimates that about 550 living Americans carry the first name Haneef. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Haneef today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haneef births was 2005 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haneef. 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 Haneef with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
550
~ 1 in 623,190 Americans
Peak year
2005
24 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,919
Tracked since 1977
Census
Haneef in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 493 people with the first name Haneef, which placed it at #20,821 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
#20,821
National first-name rank
People counted
493
493 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haneef
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Haneef is Black at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Haneef 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 Haneef at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.5% · 377
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.8% · 63
- Two or more races4.1% · 20
- White3.0% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Haneef: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haneef from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 166 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Haneef 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 Haneef during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Haneefs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Haneef
The name Haneef is of Arabic origin and is derived from the root word "hanif," which means "true" or "upright." It is associated with the concept of monotheism and following the true path of religion.
The name Haneef has its roots in pre-Islamic Arabia, where it was used to refer to those who rejected idolatry and followed the monotheistic beliefs of Abraham. The term "hanif" is mentioned in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, further establishing its connection to Islamic traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Haneef can be found in the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, where it is mentioned as a title given to his companion, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (circa 594-652 CE). Abu Dharr was known for his piety and unwavering commitment to the Islamic faith, earning him the honorific title "Haneef."
Throughout Islamic history, several prominent figures have borne the name Haneef. One notable example is Haneef ibn Qays (died around 660 CE), a renowned Arab poet and companion of the Prophet Muhammad. His poems often reflected the principles of monotheism and Islamic teachings.
Another historical figure with the name Haneef is Haneef al-Abbasi (1230-1311 CE), a Persian philosopher and theologian who made significant contributions to the field of Islamic metaphysics and mysticism. His works, such as "The Seal of the Wise," explored the relationship between reason and faith.
In more recent times, Haneef Qureshi (1900-1988) was a prominent Pakistani lawyer and politician who served as the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court and played a crucial role in the formation of Pakistan's legal system.
Haneef Kureishi (born 1954) is a British playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker of Pakistani and English descent. He is known for his works that explore themes of cultural identity, race, and sexuality, such as the novels "The Buddha of Suburbia" and "The Black Album."
It is worth noting that while the name Haneef has its origins in Arabic and Islamic traditions, it has transcended cultural and religious boundaries and is used by people from various backgrounds around the world, reflecting its universal appeal and resonance with values of truth and righteousness.
People
Haneef + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haneef 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
Haneef: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haneef?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 550 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haneef 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 623,190 US residents.
Is Haneef a common name?
We classify Haneef as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 563 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haneef most popular?
The single biggest year for Haneef was 2005, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haneef is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Haneef in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 493 people with the name Haneef, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,821 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 Haneef 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 Haneef?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Haneef leans strongly male. 487 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 7 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Haneef?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Haneef is Black at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Haneef most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Haneef in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (377 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 Haneef in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haneef a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Haneef 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 Haneef still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haneef 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 Haneef 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 called Haneef?
You can see how many people have the name Haneef on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.