Abdiwali
A masculine Arabic name meaning "servant of the almighty".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Abdiwali. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Abdiwali today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Abdiwali births was 2011 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Abdiwali. 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 Abdiwali with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Abdiwali. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2011
5 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,297
Tracked since 2011
Census
Abdiwali in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 161 people with the first name Abdiwali, which placed it at #43,643 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
#43,643
National first-name rank
People counted
161
161 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abdiwali
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abdiwali is Black at 96.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Hispanic (1.2%). 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 Abdiwali 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 Abdiwali at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.3% · 155
- White1.2% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 2
- Two or more races1.2% · 2
Popularity
Abdiwali: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Abdiwali 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 Abdiwali during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Abdiwali
The name Abdiwali originates from the Somali language and culture, tracing its roots back to the early medieval period in the Horn of Africa region. It is a compound name derived from the Arabic "Abd" meaning "servant" and the Somali word "Wali" meaning "friend" or "protector."
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in ancient Somali oral traditions and poetry, which were later transcribed and preserved in written form. These literary works often celebrated the virtues of friendship, loyalty, and protection, aligning with the name's meaning.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Abdiwali was a 13th-century Somali poet and scholar, renowned for his contributions to the development of the Somali language and literature. His works, which have been passed down through generations, continue to inspire and influence modern Somali poets and writers.
In the 16th century, a prominent Somali ruler named Abdiwali ibn Mahmud rose to power in the coastal city of Mogadishu. He is credited with establishing a thriving trade network and fostering cultural exchange between Somalia and other regions, including the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
During the 19th century, a revered Somali religious leader and Sufi scholar, Abdiwali Sheikh Abdirahman, gained widespread recognition for his teachings and writings on Islamic spirituality and ethics. His teachings continue to shape the cultural and religious landscape of Somalia to this day.
Another notable figure bearing the name Abdiwali was a 20th-century Somali linguist and lexicographer, Abdiwali Maxamed Cumar. He dedicated his life to preserving and promoting the Somali language, compiling one of the most comprehensive Somali-English dictionaries to date.
Throughout history, the name Abdiwali has been carried by various individuals from different walks of life, including scholars, poets, rulers, and religious leaders, all contributing to the rich cultural tapestry of Somalia and the broader Horn of Africa region.
People
Abdiwali + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Abdiwali as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Abdiwali: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Abdiwali?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Abdiwali 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Abdiwali a common name?
We classify Abdiwali as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Abdiwali most popular?
The single biggest year for Abdiwali was 2011, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Abdiwali is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Abdiwali in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 161 people with the name Abdiwali, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,643 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 Abdiwali 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 Abdiwali?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Abdiwali appears almost entirely male. Of the 159 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Abdiwali?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Abdiwali is Black at 96.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Hispanic (1.2%). 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 Abdiwali most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Abdiwali in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (155 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 Abdiwali in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Abdiwali a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Abdiwali 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 Abdiwali still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Abdiwali 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 Abdiwali 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 Abdiwali?
You can see how many Americans are named Abdiwali on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.