Harim
An Arabic name meaning forbidden, prohibited, or sacred enclosure.
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the first name Harim. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Harim today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harim births was 2008 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harim. 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 Harim with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
118
~ 1 in 2,904,698 Americans
Peak year
2008
12 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,230
Tracked since 1994
Census
Harim in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 293 people with the first name Harim, which placed it at #29,959 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
#29,959
National first-name rank
People counted
293
293 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
59.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harim
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Harim is Hispanic at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (29.4%) and Black (5.1%). 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 Harim 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 Harim at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino59.7% · 175
- Asian and Pacific Islander29.4% · 86
- Black or African American5.1% · 15
- White4.8% · 14
- Two or more races0.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Harim: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Harim from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 69 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
Harim 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 Harim during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Harims live
Origin
Meaning and history of Harim
The name Harim has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, originating in the Middle East and North Africa. It is derived from the Arabic word "haram," which means "sacred" or "forbidden." The name was likely given to individuals as a reminder of the importance of respecting and upholding sacred values and traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Harim can be found in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. It is mentioned in reference to the sacred precinct surrounding the Kaaba in Mecca, which is known as the "Haram al-Sharif" or the "Sacred Sanctuary."
In the 7th century, during the early years of Islam, there was a notable figure named Harim ibn Hayan, who was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and participated in various battles alongside him. He is recognized as one of the earliest individuals to bear this name.
Another significant figure in history with the name Harim was Harim al-Rashid, who lived from 763 to 809 CE. He was the fifth Abbasid Caliph and is remembered for his patronage of the arts, literature, and sciences during his reign. His court in Baghdad was renowned for its cultural and intellectual achievements.
In the 11th century, a scholar and poet named Harim ibn Muhammad al-Razi lived in present-day Iran. He was known for his expertise in various fields, including astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy, and his works were widely studied and influential during his time.
During the Mamluk period in Egypt, which lasted from the 13th to the 16th century, there was a prominent military commander named Harim al-Din al-Zahir Baibars. He rose through the ranks of the Mamluk Sultanate and eventually became the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, ruling from 1260 to 1277 CE.
In more recent history, a notable figure with the name Harim was Harim al-Sadi, an Iraqi poet and writer who lived from 1916 to 1966. He was a leading figure in the Arabic literary renaissance and was known for his innovative style and exploration of modern themes in his poetry.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Harim, highlighting its deep roots in the Arabic language and culture, as well as its association with sacred traditions, scholarship, and artistic expression.
People
Harim + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harim 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
Harim: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harim?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 118 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harim 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 2,904,698 US residents.
Is Harim a common name?
We classify Harim as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 120 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harim most popular?
The single biggest year for Harim was 2008, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harim is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Harim in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 293 people with the name Harim, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,959 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 Harim 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 Harim?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Harim on both sides of the split. Of the 289 people counted with this name, 223 were male (77.2%) and 66 were female (22.8%). 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 Harim?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Harim is Hispanic at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (29.4%) and Black (5.1%). 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 Harim most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Harim in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (175 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 Harim in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Harim a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Harim 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 Harim still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Harim 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 Harim 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 Harim as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Harim on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.