Wateen
A name of Arabic origin meaning "homeland" or "native land".
Name Census estimates that about 264 living Americans carry the first name Wateen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Wateen today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wateen births was 2024 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wateen. 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 Wateen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
264
~ 1 in 1,298,312 Americans
Peak year
2024
73 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,477
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Wateen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wateen from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 196 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
Wateen 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 Wateen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wateens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, Michigan, California recorded the most babies named Wateen, while Texas, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wateen
The name Wateen has its origins in the ancient Semitic languages, tracing back to the region of Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, and surrounding areas. It is derived from the Akkadian word "watnu," which means "firm" or "steadfast." The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the third millennium BCE, appearing in cuneiform inscriptions from the Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the name Wateen was a high-ranking official in the court of King Shulgi of the Ur III dynasty, who ruled around 2094-2047 BCE. This individual's name was inscribed on several clay tablets documenting administrative records and transactions.
In the ancient Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known literary works dating back to circa 2100 BCE, there is a character named Wateen who plays a minor role as a wise elder or counselor. This reference suggests that the name was in use during the early stages of Mesopotamian civilization.
During the Neo-Babylonian period, around the 6th century BCE, there are records of a scribe named Wateen who was responsible for transcribing important documents and texts. His name appears on several clay tablets preserved in the British Museum's collection.
In the 5th century BCE, a Greek historian named Herodotus mentioned a Persian nobleman named Wateen who participated in the Greco-Persian Wars. This individual is believed to have been a high-ranking military leader or advisor to the Persian king Xerxes I.
Another notable figure bearing the name Wateen was a 7th-century Arab poet and scholar from Medina. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of Arabic poetry and literature during the early Islamic period.
Throughout history, the name Wateen has been carried by various individuals across different cultures and regions, although its usage has been relatively rare compared to other names. Its connection to the ancient Semitic languages and its appearance in early literary works and historical records make it a name with a rich and fascinating heritage.
People
Wateen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wateen 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
Wateen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wateen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 264 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wateen 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 1,298,312 US residents.
Is Wateen a common name?
We classify Wateen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 266 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wateen most popular?
The single biggest year for Wateen was 2024, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wateen is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Wateen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wateen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wateen 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 Wateen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wateen 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 Wateen 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Wateen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.