Zahmir
An Arabic name meaning "blooming flower" or "blossoming."
Name Census estimates that about 662 living Americans carry the first name Zahmir. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zahmir today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zahmir births was 2023 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zahmir. 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.
People living today
662
~ 1 in 517,756 Americans
Peak year
2023
73 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,864
Tracked since 2000
Census
Zahmir in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 280 people with the first name Zahmir, which placed it at #30,870 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
#30,870
National first-name rank
People counted
280
280 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
92.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zahmir
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zahmir is Black at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Zahmir 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 Zahmir at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.1% · 258
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 10
- Two or more races2.9% · 8
- White1.4% · 4
Popularity
Zahmir: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zahmir from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 275 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
Zahmir 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 Zahmir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zahmirs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Zahmir, while Virginia, Georgia, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zahmir
The name Zahmir is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, with its roots tracing back to the Middle Eastern and Islamic cultures of the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic word "zahir," which means "shining" or "brilliant." The name Zahmir is a combination of this root word and the Arabic suffix "-mir," which denotes nobility or high rank.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zahmir can be found in the historical records of the Abbasid Caliphate, a prominent Islamic empire that ruled from 750 to 1258 AD. During this period, the name was used by several influential figures, including Zahmir ibn Abi Muslim, a prominent military commander who played a crucial role in the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate and the establishment of the Abbasid dynasty.
In the 11th century, the name Zahmir gained further prominence when it was bestowed upon Zahmir al-Dawlah, a powerful military leader and member of the Buwayhid dynasty, which ruled over parts of modern-day Iran and Iraq. His achievements and military campaigns were extensively documented in contemporary historical texts, further cementing the name's association with strength and nobility.
Throughout the centuries, the name Zahmir has been carried by several notable figures across various fields. One such individual was Zahmir Alavi, a renowned Persian poet and scholar who lived during the 14th century. His poetic works, which often explored themes of love and spirituality, are still widely studied and celebrated in the Persian literary tradition.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Zahmir Khan, a skilled military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century. His bravery and strategic prowess were instrumental in many of the Mughal Empire's military conquests, and his exploits were immortalized in various historical accounts of the period.
Zahmir Hussain, a Pakistani cricketer who played for the national team in the 1970s and 1980s, is another notable figure who carried the name. He was known for his exceptional batting skills and played a pivotal role in several memorable victories for Pakistan during his illustrious career.
While the name Zahmir has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained recognition worldwide. Its association with brilliance, nobility, and strength has made it a popular choice for parents seeking a name that carries a rich historical significance and a sense of distinction.
People
Zahmir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zahmir as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zahmir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zahmir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 662 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zahmir 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 517,756 US residents.
Is Zahmir a common name?
We classify Zahmir as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 667 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zahmir most popular?
The single biggest year for Zahmir was 2023, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zahmir is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zahmir in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 280 people with the name Zahmir, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,870 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 Zahmir 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 Zahmir?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zahmir leans strongly male. 276 people counted with this name were male (95.8%), compared with 12 female bearers (4.2%). 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 Zahmir?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zahmir is Black at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Zahmir most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Zahmir in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (258 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 Zahmir in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zahmir a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zahmir 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 Zahmir still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zahmir 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 Zahmir 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 share the name Zahmir?
Want to know how many people have the name Zahmir? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.