Wakeelah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "representative" or "messenger".
Name Census estimates that about 88 living Americans carry the first name Wakeelah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wakeelah today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wakeelah births was 1978 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wakeelah. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wakeelah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
88
~ 1 in 3,894,936 Americans
Peak year
1978
21 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1984 SSA rank
#10,388
Tracked since 1976
Census
Wakeelah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 106 people with the first name Wakeelah, which placed it at #52,574 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
#52,574
National first-name rank
People counted
106
106 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wakeelah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wakeelah is Black at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Wakeelah 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 Wakeelah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.6% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- White1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
Popularity
Wakeelah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wakeelah from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 49 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wakeelah 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 Wakeelah 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 Wakeelah
The name Wakeelah has its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "wakil," which means "representative" or "agent." The name gained popularity in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly among Muslim communities.
In the Islamic tradition, the name Wakeelah is often associated with the concept of trusteeship or guardianship. It carries connotations of responsibility, reliability, and trustworthiness. The name may have been given to individuals who were entrusted with important duties or tasks within their communities.
Historical records indicate that the name Wakeelah has been in use for centuries, although its earliest documented instances are difficult to pinpoint precisely. It is possible that the name appeared in ancient Arabic texts or manuscripts, but concrete evidence is scarce.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Wakeelah was Wakeelah bint Al-Harith (born around 650 CE), a prominent scholar and jurist from Medina. She was renowned for her expertise in Islamic law and her contributions to the field of hadith (prophetic traditions).
Another notable figure was Wakeelah Al-Andalusi (born in 1035 CE), a renowned poet and writer from Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain and Portugal). Her works were widely celebrated for their eloquence and literary merit, and she played a significant role in preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Andalusian region.
In the 12th century, Wakeelah Al-Qudsi (born in 1130 CE) was a respected physician and scholar from Jerusalem. She authored several treatises on medicine and was celebrated for her contributions to the advancement of medical knowledge during the Islamic Golden Age.
During the Ottoman Empire, Wakeelah Khatun (born in 1540 CE) was a prominent figure known for her philanthropic endeavors. She established numerous educational institutions, hospitals, and charitable foundations, leaving a lasting impact on the social and cultural fabric of the empire.
More recently, Wakeelah Kareem (born in 1926 CE) was a renowned Egyptian actress and singer. She graced the silver screen with her captivating performances and was widely acclaimed for her versatility and talent in both cinema and music.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Wakeelah throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of diverse cultures and societies.
People
Wakeelah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wakeelah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wakeelah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wakeelah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 88 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wakeelah 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 3,894,936 US residents.
Is Wakeelah a common name?
We classify Wakeelah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 95 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wakeelah most popular?
The single biggest year for Wakeelah was 1978, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wakeelah is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wakeelah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 106 people with the name Wakeelah, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,574 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 Wakeelah 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 Wakeelah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wakeelah appears almost entirely female. Of the 104 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 Wakeelah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wakeelah is Black at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Wakeelah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Wakeelah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (96 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 Wakeelah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wakeelah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wakeelah 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 Wakeelah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wakeelah 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 Wakeelah 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 Wakeelah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.