Afzal
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "the greatest" or "the most praiseworthy".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Afzal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Afzal today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Afzal births was 2003 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Afzal. 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 Afzal with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Afzal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
2003
8 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2003 SSA rank
#7,857
Tracked since 1991
Census
Afzal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 564 people with the first name Afzal, which placed it at #18,965 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
#18,965
National first-name rank
People counted
564
564 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
85.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Afzal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Afzal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Afzal 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 Afzal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander85.6% · 483
- White5.7% · 32
- Two or more races5.0% · 28
- Black or African American2.7% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Popularity
Afzal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Afzal from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 8 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
Afzal 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 Afzal 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 Afzal
The given name Afzal has its origins in the Persian and Arabic languages. It is a combination of the Arabic prefix "af" meaning "most" and the Persian word "fazl" meaning "virtue" or "grace." Together, the name Afzal translates to "the most virtuous" or "the most gracious."
The name can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the early years of Islamic civilization in the Middle East. It was a name commonly bestowed upon individuals who were admired for their virtuous character, wisdom, and moral standing within their community.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Afzal can be found in the famous Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century AD. The poem includes a character named Afzal, who is portrayed as a wise and virtuous advisor to the king.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Afzal. One of the most prominent was Afzal Khan, a 17th-century Mughal general and governor who served under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He was known for his military prowess and played a significant role in the expansion of the Mughal Empire in southern India.
Another notable figure was Afzal ad-Din al-Khunaji, a 13th-century Persian philosopher and scientist who made significant contributions to the fields of logic, metaphysics, and astronomy. He was a influential figure in the intellectual circles of his time and wrote several treatises on various philosophical and scientific topics.
In the 14th century, Afzal al-Din Kashani was a renowned Persian calligrapher and poet. His calligraphic works were highly prized, and he is considered one of the masters of the Nasta'liq script, which was widely used in Persian calligraphy.
During the 16th century, Afzal Khan Mewati was a Hindu noble who served as a general in the Mughal army under the reign of Emperor Akbar. He was known for his bravery and loyalty and played a crucial role in several military campaigns.
Another notable figure was Afzal Khan Koka, a 17th-century Mughal nobleman and military commander who served under the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. He was instrumental in the construction of the Taj Mahal and was appointed as the governor of several provinces during his lifetime.
People
Afzal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Afzal 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
Afzal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Afzal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Afzal 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Afzal a common name?
We classify Afzal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Afzal most popular?
The single biggest year for Afzal was 2003, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Afzal is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Afzal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 564 people with the name Afzal, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,965 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 Afzal 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 Afzal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Afzal leans strongly male. 516 people counted with this name were male (89.9%), compared with 58 female bearers (10.1%). 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 Afzal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Afzal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Afzal most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Afzal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (483 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 Afzal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Afzal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Afzal 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 Afzal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Afzal 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 Afzal 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 Afzal as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.