Askari
Guard or soldier, derived from the Arabic word meaning "army".
Name Census estimates that about 264 living Americans carry the first name Askari. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Askari today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Askari births was 2016 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Askari. 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.
People living today
264
~ 1 in 1,298,312 Americans
Peak year
2016
19 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,352
Tracked since 1993
Census
Askari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 206 people with the first name Askari, which placed it at #37,688 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
#37,688
National first-name rank
People counted
206
206 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Askari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Askari is Black at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.2%) and Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Askari 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 Askari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.9% · 142
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.2% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 18
- Two or more races6.3% · 13
- White3.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
Popularity
Askari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Askari 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 99 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Askari remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Askari 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 Askari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Askaris live
Origin
Meaning and history of Askari
The name Askari finds its origins in the Arabic language, where it is derived from the word "askar," meaning "soldier" or "warrior." This name gained prominence during the medieval period in the Middle East and North Africa, where it was commonly used to refer to members of military forces or armed guards.
One of the earliest known references to the name Askari can be found in the writings of Ibn Battuta, a renowned Moroccan scholar and explorer who traveled extensively throughout the Islamic world in the 14th century. In his travelogues, Battuta mentions encountering various groups of askaris or soldiers during his journeys across Africa and Asia.
The name Askari also holds significance in the context of Islamic history, as it was often associated with the elite military units known as the Mamluks, who served as soldiers and rulers in various parts of the Islamic world from the 9th to the 19th centuries. These highly trained warriors, many of whom were originally enslaved individuals from non-Arab regions, played a crucial role in shaping the political and military landscapes of their time.
One notable figure bearing the name Askari was Askari Muhammad Khan (1670-1719), a Mughal military commander and governor who served under the emperor Aurangzeb in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was renowned for his military prowess and played a significant role in various campaigns, including the conquest of the Deccan region in southern India.
Another historical figure with the name Askari was Askari Mirza (1516-1551), a prince of the Mughal Empire and the second son of Emperor Babur. Although he did not ascend to the throne himself, Askari Mirza was known for his intellectual pursuits and his patronage of the arts and literature.
In more recent history, Askari Muhammad Khan Ghalzai (1858-1907) was an influential Afghan military commander and political figure who played a pivotal role in the Anglo-Afghan Wars of the late 19th century. He led Afghan forces against the British Empire and is remembered for his bravery and strategic leadership.
While the name Askari has its roots in Arabic and Islamic cultures, it has also been adopted and used in various other regions and contexts over time. For instance, in East Africa, the term "askari" was used to refer to colonial troops or police officers during the period of European colonization, reflecting the name's military connotations.
People
Askari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Askari 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
Askari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Askari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 264 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Askari 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 1,298,312 US residents.
Is Askari a common name?
We classify Askari as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 267 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Askari most popular?
The single biggest year for Askari was 2016, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Askari is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Askari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 206 people with the name Askari, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,688 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 Askari 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 Askari?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Askari leans strongly male. 189 people counted with this name were male (94.5%), compared with 11 female bearers (5.5%). 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 Askari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Askari is Black at 68.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.2%) and Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Askari most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Askari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.9% (142 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 Askari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Askari a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Askari 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 Askari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Askari 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 Askari 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 are called Askari?
You can see how many people share the name Askari on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.