Maheen
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "gracious" or "pretty".
Name Census estimates that about 627 living Americans carry the first name Maheen. It is a predominantly female name (99.1% of registrations). The average person named Maheen today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maheen births was 2001 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maheen. 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 Maheen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
627
~ 1 in 546,658 Americans
Peak year
2001
33 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2007 SSA rank
#11,815
Tracked since 1984
Census
Maheen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 887 people with the first name Maheen, which placed it at #13,570 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
#13,570
National first-name rank
People counted
887
887 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maheen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maheen is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Maheen 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 Maheen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.4% · 802
- White6.1% · 54
- Two or more races1.6% · 14
- Black or African American0.8% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Maheen
Out of the 638 babies given the name Maheen since 1880, 99.1% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Maheen as a male name
- Ranked #11,815 in 2007
- 6 male births in 2007
- Peak: 2007 (6 births)
Maheen as a female name
- Ranked #14,484 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2001 (33 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maheen leans strongly female. 829 people counted with this name were female (93.7%), compared with 56 male bearers (6.3%).
Popularity
Maheen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maheen from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 254 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
Maheen 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 Maheen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maheens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, Texas, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Maheen, while Illinois, California, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maheen
The name Maheen is of Arabic origin and is derived from the word "mahi," which means "beautiful" or "radiant." It is a feminine name that has been popular in the Middle East and South Asia for centuries.
Maheen is believed to have first appeared in ancient Arabic literature and poetry, where it was used to describe the beauty and grace of women. The name gained widespread popularity during the Islamic Golden Age, when Arabic culture and literature flourished.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Maheen can be found in the writings of the famous Persian poet Hafiz, who lived in the 14th century. In his poetry, Hafiz often used the name Maheen as a metaphor for a beautiful and beloved woman.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women who bore the name Maheen. One of the most famous was Maheen Banu Begum, who lived in the 16th century and was the wife of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. She was known for her beauty, intelligence, and influence in the Mughal court.
Another notable Maheen was Maheen Khan, a 17th-century Sufi mystic and poet from present-day Pakistan. She was renowned for her spiritual teachings and her poetry, which often explored themes of love and devotion.
In the 19th century, Maheen Sultana was a prominent female ruler of the princely state of Bhopal in India. She was known for her progressive policies and her efforts to modernize and reform her state.
In more recent times, Maheen Khan was a Pakistani actress and model who rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s. She starred in numerous Lollywood films and was considered one of the most beautiful actresses of her time.
Additionally, Maheen Ghani Taseer is a prominent Pakistani journalist and author who has written extensively on topics such as politics, culture, and women's rights. She is the daughter of the late Pakistani politician and journalist Salmaan Taseer.
The name Maheen has remained a popular choice for parents in the Middle East and South Asia, and its meaning of "beautiful" and "radiant" has made it a beloved name for centuries.
People
Maheen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maheen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maheen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maheen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 627 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maheen 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 546,658 US residents.
Is Maheen a common name?
We classify Maheen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 638 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maheen most popular?
The single biggest year for Maheen was 2001, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maheen 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 Maheen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 887 people with the name Maheen, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,570 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 Maheen 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 Maheen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maheen leans strongly female. 829 people counted with this name were female (93.7%), compared with 56 male bearers (6.3%). 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 Maheen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maheen is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Maheen most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Maheen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (802 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 Maheen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maheen a female name?
Yes, 99.1% of people registered as Maheen 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 Maheen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maheen 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 Maheen 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 Maheen as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.