Narjis
A feminine name of Persian origin meaning "narcissus flower".
Name Census estimates that about 156 living Americans carry the first name Narjis. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Narjis today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Narjis births was 2016 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Narjis. 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 Narjis with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
156
~ 1 in 2,197,143 Americans
Peak year
2016
15 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,904
Tracked since 2006
Census
Narjis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 319 people with the first name Narjis, which placed it at #28,252 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
#28,252
National first-name rank
People counted
319
319 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Narjis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Narjis is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (31.3%) 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 Narjis 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 Narjis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.2% · 189
- Asian and Pacific Islander31.3% · 100
- Two or more races4.1% · 13
- Black or African American3.8% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 5
Popularity
Narjis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Narjis from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 110 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Narjis remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Narjis 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 Narjis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Narjis' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Narjis
Narjis is a feminine name of Arabic origin, derived from the Persian word "Narges," which means "daffodil" or "narcissus." The name's roots can be traced back to the ancient Persian language, and it is believed to have been in use since the pre-Islamic era.
In Islamic tradition, Narjis is associated with a beautiful and fragrant flower mentioned in the Quran. The name gained popularity among Muslims, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia, where it was often given to girls as a symbol of beauty, purity, and grace.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Narjis can be found in the works of renowned Persian poets, such as Rumi and Hafez, who frequently used the name as a metaphor for their beloved or as a symbol of divine beauty.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Narjis. One of the most famous was Narjis Khatun (1292-1328), a princess of the Delhi Sultanate and the wife of Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. She is remembered for her patronage of the arts and her contributions to the cultural and intellectual life of the court.
Another prominent figure was Narjis Siddiqi (1901-1986), a renowned Indian author and poet who wrote extensively in Urdu and Persian. Her works explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, earning her critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
In the modern era, Narjis Shami (1924-2017) was a renowned Pakistani singer and actress, known for her contributions to the golden age of Pakistani cinema. Her powerful vocals and captivating performances made her a beloved cultural icon.
Narjis Sayiedah (born 1958) is a contemporary Pakistani writer and academic, recognized for her literary works that explore themes of gender, identity, and socio-political issues in South Asia.
Narjis Alavi (1928-2008) was a prominent Pakistani architect and urban planner, known for her innovative designs and her efforts to promote sustainable and culturally-sensitive architecture in Pakistan.
People
Narjis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Narjis as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Narjis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Narjis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 156 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Narjis 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 2,197,143 US residents.
Is Narjis a common name?
We classify Narjis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 157 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Narjis most popular?
The single biggest year for Narjis was 2016, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Narjis is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Narjis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 319 people with the name Narjis, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,252 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 Narjis 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 Narjis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Narjis appears almost entirely female. Of the 324 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Narjis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Narjis is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (31.3%) 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 Narjis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Narjis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.2% (189 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 Narjis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Narjis a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Narjis 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 Narjis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Narjis 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 Narjis 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 Americans are named Narjis?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Narjis at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.