Anhar
A gender neutral Arabic name signifying a flowing river or stream.
Name Census estimates that about 168 living Americans carry the first name Anhar. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Anhar today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anhar births was 2023 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anhar. 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 Anhar with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
168
~ 1 in 2,040,204 Americans
Peak year
2023
22 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,980
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Anhar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anhar from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 85 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
Anhar 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 Anhar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Anhars live
Origin
Meaning and history of Anhar
The name Anhar is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "anhar" which means "rivers" or "streams" in Arabic. It is believed to have been first used as a given name in the Middle East region during the medieval period, around the 7th or 8th century AD.
The name Anhar is not found in any major religious scriptures or ancient texts, but it is mentioned in some historical records from the medieval Islamic world. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Anhar was Anhar ibn Shammas, a notable scholar and poet who lived in Basra, Iraq, during the 9th century AD.
Another notable figure with the name Anhar was Anhar al-Kalbi, a renowned historian and genealogist from the 8th century AD. He is known for his work in documenting the lineages and histories of Arab tribes and families.
In the 11th century, Anhar al-Samarkandi was a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from Samarkand, in modern-day Uzbekistan. He made significant contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence and was widely respected for his knowledge and teachings.
During the 13th century, Anhar al-Dimashqi was a prominent Syrian scholar and writer who authored several works on various subjects, including literature, poetry, and history.
In more recent times, Anhar Mahmood was a Pakistani politician and diplomat who served as the country's Ambassador to several nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom, during the late 20th century.
While the name Anhar has been used throughout history, it remains relatively uncommon compared to some other Arabic names. However, it has a rich cultural heritage and continues to be used, particularly in the Middle East and among Arabic-speaking communities around the world.
People
Anhar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anhar 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
Anhar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anhar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 168 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anhar 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 2,040,204 US residents.
Is Anhar a common name?
We classify Anhar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 169 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anhar most popular?
The single biggest year for Anhar was 2023, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anhar is about 8 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 Anhar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anhar a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anhar 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 Anhar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anhar 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 Anhar 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 are named Anhar?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.