Lateef
Kind, gentle, and refined.
Name Census estimates that about 851 living Americans carry the first name Lateef. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lateef today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lateef births was 1977 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lateef. 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 Lateef with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
851
~ 1 in 402,767 Americans
Peak year
1977
47 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2022 SSA rank
#11,703
Tracked since 1967
Census
Lateef in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 951 people with the first name Lateef, which placed it at #12,880 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
#12,880
National first-name rank
People counted
951
951 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lateef
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lateef is Black at 85.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Lateef 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 Lateef at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.0% · 808
- White4.7% · 45
- Two or more races4.0% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Popularity
Lateef: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lateef from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 289 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lateef 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 Lateef during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lateefs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Lateef, while California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lateef
The name Lateef has its origins in the Arabic language and is derived from the word "latif," which means "gentle," "kind," or "subtle." It is a name that has been used for centuries in the Islamic world, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.
The earliest known reference to the name Lateef can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The word "latif" is mentioned several times in the Quran, and it is one of the names attributed to Allah, the Supreme Being in Islam. This association with divinity likely contributed to the popularity of the name among Muslims.
One of the earliest recorded examples of a person bearing the name Lateef is Al-Lateef al-Baghdadi, a renowned Islamic scholar and poet who lived in Baghdad during the 9th century. He was known for his expertise in Arabic literature and his contributions to the development of Islamic theology.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lateef. One of the most prominent figures was Lateef Khwaja, a 16th-century Sufi saint and scholar from present-day Pakistan. He was revered for his spiritual teachings and his role in spreading Islam in the region.
Another influential figure with the name Lateef was Lateef Adegbite, a Nigerian lawyer and politician who played a significant role in the country's independence movement in the mid-20th century. He served as the first indigenous Attorney General of Nigeria and was a prominent advocate for human rights and social justice.
In the realm of arts and culture, Lateef Yakubu was a notable Nigerian artist and sculptor who gained international recognition for his works that celebrated African heritage and traditions. His sculptures can be found in various museums and public spaces around the world.
The name Lateef has also been associated with the world of music. One of the most famous musicians with this name was Yusef Lateef, an American jazz musician and composer who was known for his innovative approach to combining elements of jazz with Eastern and African musical traditions.
While the name Lateef has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and has been embraced by people of various backgrounds and cultures around the world, each lending their own unique interpretations and meanings to this timeless name.
People
Lateef + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lateef as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lateef: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lateef?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 851 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lateef 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 402,767 US residents.
Is Lateef a common name?
We classify Lateef as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 891 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lateef most popular?
The single biggest year for Lateef was 1977, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lateef is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lateef in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 951 people with the name Lateef, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,880 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 Lateef 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 Lateef?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lateef leans strongly male. 935 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 19 female bearers (2.0%). 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 Lateef?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lateef is Black at 85.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Lateef most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lateef in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.0% (808 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 Lateef in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lateef a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lateef 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 Lateef still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lateef 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 Lateef 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 Lateef?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Lateef on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.