Aqib
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "one who follows closely behind".
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Aqib. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aqib today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aqib births was 2014 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aqib. 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 Aqib with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
2014
11 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2022 SSA rank
#9,899
Tracked since 1992
Census
Aqib in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 265 people with the first name Aqib, which placed it at #32,010 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
#32,010
National first-name rank
People counted
265
265 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aqib
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aqib is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and White (1.1%). 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 Aqib 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 Aqib at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.6% · 240
- Black or African American6.8% · 18
- White1.1% · 3
- Two or more races1.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Aqib: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aqib from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 74 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aqib remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aqib 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 Aqib during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aqibs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Aqib
The name Aqib has its origins in Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "Aqib," which means "follower" or "successor." The name is believed to have been used in the Middle East and North Africa regions during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aqib can be found in historical texts from the 7th century CE, during the early years of Islamic expansion. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been used by early Muslim communities to honor individuals who were deemed as faithful followers of the Prophet Muhammad.
In terms of historical references, the name Aqib has been mentioned in various Islamic texts and manuscripts. However, specific mentions of individuals bearing this name are relatively scarce in ancient records.
One notable figure in history who bore the name Aqib was Aqib ibn Abi Quhafah, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad who lived in the 7th century CE. He is known for his participation in several significant battles during the early Islamic conquests.
Another individual named Aqib who left a mark in history was Aqib al-Akhras, a 9th-century Arab poet and scholar from present-day Iraq. He was renowned for his contributions to Arabic literature and his expertise in various fields, including linguistics and theology.
In the 12th century, Aqib al-Din al-Bunduqdari was a prominent historian and writer from Damascus, Syria. He authored several works on the history and geography of the region during the Ayyubid dynasty.
During the 13th century, Aqib al-Masri was a renowned Egyptian mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the study of astronomy and the development of astronomical instruments.
In the 15th century, Aqib al-Baghdadi was a celebrated calligrapher and artist from Baghdad, Iraq. His intricate calligraphic works and illuminated manuscripts are highly regarded and have been preserved in various museums and collections around the world.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Aqib. While not an exhaustive list, it provides an insight into the diverse backgrounds and achievements of those who carried this name across different eras and regions.
People
Aqib + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aqib 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
Aqib: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aqib?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aqib 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 1,748,747 US residents.
Is Aqib a common name?
We classify Aqib as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 198 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aqib most popular?
The single biggest year for Aqib was 2014, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aqib is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aqib in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 265 people with the name Aqib, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,010 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 Aqib 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 Aqib?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aqib appears almost entirely male. Of the 270 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Aqib?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aqib is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and White (1.1%). 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 Aqib most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Aqib in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (240 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 Aqib in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aqib a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aqib 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 Aqib still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aqib 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 Aqib 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 Aqib?
Want to know how many people have the name Aqib? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.