Marwan
An Arabic masculine name meaning "beautiful, pleasing" or "longing".
Name Census estimates that about 1,282 living Americans carry the first name Marwan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marwan today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marwan births was 2017 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marwan. 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 Marwan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 267,359 Americans
Peak year
2017
55 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,722
Tracked since 1961
Census
Marwan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,725 people with the first name Marwan, which placed it at #6,028 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
#6,028
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,725 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marwan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marwan is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Marwan 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 Marwan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.7% · 2,173
- Black or African American11.4% · 312
- Two or more races4.4% · 121
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Marwan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marwan from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 436 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Marwan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marwan 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 Marwan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marwans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, California, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Marwan, while Florida, Texas, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marwan
The name Marwan has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, with roots dating back to the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic word "mara," which means "to pass through" or "to move forward." The name is believed to symbolize progress, advancement, and a journey through life.
In Islamic tradition, Marwan is closely associated with the Umayyad dynasty, one of the most prominent dynasties in early Islamic history. The name gained prominence during this period, as it was borne by several influential figures, including Marwan I, the fourth caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, who ruled from 684 to 685 AD.
The earliest recorded example of the name Marwan can be found in historical records and texts from the 7th and 8th centuries AD. One of the most notable bearers of the name was Marwan ibn al-Hakam, a prominent figure in early Islamic history who played a crucial role in the establishment of the Umayyad dynasty.
Throughout history, several influential individuals have carried the name Marwan. One such figure was Marwan II, the last Umayyad caliph, who ruled from 744 to 750 AD. His reign marked the end of the Umayyad dynasty and the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Another notable bearer of the name was Marwan ibn Muhammad, a renowned scholar and poet who lived during the 10th century AD. His works, which included poetry and literary criticism, have left a lasting impact on Arabic literature.
In more recent times, Marwan has been the name of several notable figures, including Marwan al-Shehhi, one of the hijackers involved in the September 11th attacks in 2001. However, it is important to note that this was an unfortunate association and does not reflect the true meaning and historical significance of the name.
Other prominent individuals with the name Marwan include Marwan Burghuti, a Palestinian political leader and activist, and Marwan Kenzari, a Dutch actor of Tunisian descent known for his roles in films such as "Aladdin" and "The Old Guard."
The name Marwan continues to be popular in the Arabic-speaking world and among Muslim communities around the globe. Its rich historical and cultural significance, combined with its beautiful meaning, make it a name that has endured throughout the centuries.
People
Marwan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marwan 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
Marwan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marwan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,282 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marwan 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 267,359 US residents.
Is Marwan a common name?
We classify Marwan as "Rare". It ranks above 91.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marwan most popular?
The single biggest year for Marwan was 2017, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marwan 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 Marwan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,725 people with the name Marwan, or 0.90 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,028 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 Marwan 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 Marwan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marwan appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,720 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Marwan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marwan is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Marwan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Marwan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (2,173 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 Marwan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marwan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marwan 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 Marwan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marwan 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 Marwan 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 Marwan 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.