Ramez
Of Arabic origin, meaning "virile, bold" or "to shoot an arrow".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Ramez. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ramez today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ramez births was 2001 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ramez. 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 Ramez with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
2001
10 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,689
Tracked since 1982
Census
Ramez in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 704 people with the first name Ramez, which placed it at #16,121 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
#16,121
National first-name rank
People counted
704
704 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ramez
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ramez is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Ramez 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 Ramez at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 620
- Black or African American3.7% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 22
- Two or more races3.1% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Popularity
Ramez: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ramez 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 72 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
Ramez 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 Ramez during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ramez
The name Ramez has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "ramiz," which means "symbol" or "sign." The name is believed to have been in use since ancient times in the Middle East and North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Ramez can be found in the writings of the renowned Arab philosopher and scholar, Avicenna (980-1037 CE). He used the term "ramiz" to refer to symbolic and allegorical meanings in his philosophical works.
In Islamic literature, the name Ramez is sometimes associated with the concept of divine signs and symbols found in the natural world and in religious texts, such as the Quran. Some scholars have interpreted certain verses as containing symbolic or allegorical meanings, referred to as "ramiz."
One of the earliest recorded individuals to bear the name Ramez was Ramez al-Mutanabbi (915-965 CE), a renowned Arab poet from modern-day Iraq. He was known for his eloquent and influential poetry, which often explored themes of love, valor, and the human condition.
Another notable figure with the name Ramez was Ramez Jemaleddine (1287-1368 CE), a Syrian mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the study of trigonometry and the development of astronomical instruments during the Islamic Golden Age.
In the 20th century, Ramez Galal (1919-1988) was an Egyptian actor and comedian who gained widespread popularity for his comedic roles in films and television shows. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of Egyptian cinema.
Ramez Naam (born 1966) is a contemporary American writer and computer scientist of Lebanese descent. He is known for his award-winning science fiction novels, which explore themes of technological innovation, artificial intelligence, and the future of humanity.
Ramez Qureshi (born 1982) is a British actor and television presenter of Pakistani descent. He has appeared in various television shows and films and is known for his work in promoting diversity and representation in the entertainment industry.
Throughout history, the name Ramez has been associated with scholars, artists, and intellectuals, reflecting its connection to symbolism, knowledge, and creativity. While its origins are rooted in the Arabic language and culture, the name has transcended borders and has been embraced by individuals from various backgrounds and regions.
People
Ramez + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ramez as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ramez: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ramez?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ramez 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Ramez a common name?
We classify Ramez as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 165 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ramez most popular?
The single biggest year for Ramez was 2001, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ramez 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 Ramez in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 704 people with the name Ramez, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,121 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 Ramez 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 Ramez?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ramez appears almost entirely male. Of the 711 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Ramez?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ramez is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Ramez most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ramez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (620 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 Ramez in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ramez a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ramez 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 Ramez still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ramez 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 Ramez 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 Ramez as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Ramez on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.