Ashaz
A Persian name meaning "bright", "bright star", or "clear sky".
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the first name Ashaz. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ashaz today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ashaz births was 2012 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ashaz. 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 Ashaz with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
130
~ 1 in 2,636,572 Americans
Peak year
2012
19 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,941
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Ashaz: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ashaz 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 97 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ashaz 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 Ashaz during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ashaz' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ashaz
The name Ashaz is believed to have originated in the ancient Sumerian civilization, which flourished in the region of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3500-2000 BCE. Sumerian was one of the earliest written languages, and many words and names from this language have been passed down through various cultures and languages over the centuries.
Ashaz is derived from the Sumerian word "ash-shu," which roughly translates to "protector" or "guardian." This suggests that the name was originally given to individuals who were tasked with protecting and safeguarding their communities or families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ashaz can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian poem that is considered one of the earliest works of literature in human history. In the epic, Ashaz is mentioned as the name of a minor character, possibly a soldier or warrior.
Throughout history, the name Ashaz has been used across various cultures and regions, though its popularity has waxed and waned over time. In ancient Greece, there was a philosopher named Ashaz of Miletus, who lived around 600 BCE and was known for his teachings on the nature of the universe and the concept of the "Apeiron" or the infinite.
During the Middle Ages, an Arab mathematician and astronomer named Ashaz al-Khwarizmi (780-850 CE) made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and algorithms. His name has been latinized as "Algorismi," which is the root of the word "algorithm."
In the 16th century, there was an Italian poet and playwright named Ashaz Beccaria (1495-1574), who is best known for his work "Il Sacrificio," a tragedy that explored themes of honor, sacrifice, and familial duty.
Another notable figure with the name Ashaz was Ashaz al-Din Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240 CE), a renowned Sufi mystic and philosopher from Andalusia (modern-day Spain). His writings, particularly the work "Futuhat al-Makkiyya" (The Meccan Revelations), had a profound influence on Islamic mysticism and spirituality.
While the name Ashaz may not be as common today as it once was, it has a rich and fascinating history that spans across various cultures and time periods, carrying with it the essence of protection, guardianship, and wisdom.
People
Ashaz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ashaz 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
Ashaz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ashaz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 130 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ashaz 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 2,636,572 US residents.
Is Ashaz a common name?
We classify Ashaz as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 131 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ashaz most popular?
The single biggest year for Ashaz was 2012, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ashaz is about 14 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 Ashaz in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ashaz a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ashaz 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 Ashaz still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ashaz 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 Ashaz 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 share the name Ashaz?
Want to know how many people share the name Ashaz? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.