Ayin
An Arabic feminine name derived from the Hebrew letter "ayin" meaning "eye".
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Ayin. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 66.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Ayin today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ayin births was 2014 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ayin. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ayin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
2014
5 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,347
Tracked since 2014
Gender
Gender distribution for Ayin
Ayin is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 15 total registrations, 10 (66.7%) were male and 5 (33.3%) were female.
Ayin as a male name
- Ranked #12,347 in 2019
- 5 male births in 2019
- Peak: 2017 (5 births)
Ayin as a female name
- Ranked #16,914 in 2014
- 5 female births in 2014
- Peak: 2014 (5 births)
Popularity
Ayin: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Ayin 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 Ayin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 10 | 5 | 15 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Ayin
The given name Ayin has its origins in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic languages. It is derived from the sixteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, represented by the Hebrew letter ע (ʿayin) and the Aramaic letter ࢠ (ʿē). The name Ayin is closely related to the Semitic root words 'ayn, which means "eye" or "spring," and 'ayin, meaning "to understand" or "to observe."
In ancient Semitic cultures, names often held significant meanings and were believed to shape an individual's character and destiny. The name Ayin was likely chosen to symbolize qualities such as perception, wisdom, and understanding. It may have been given to children with the hope that they would grow to possess these traits.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Ayin can be found in the biblical Book of Ezra, which dates back to the 5th century BCE. In the text, Ayin is listed as the name of a town or settlement in ancient Israel.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ayin. One of the earliest was Ayin ben Pedat, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Spain during the 12th century CE. He was known for his philosophical treatises and contributions to the field of Jewish ethics.
Another prominent figure was Ayin al-Qudat Hamadani, a Persian Sufi mystic and poet who lived in the 12th century CE. He was known for his profound spiritual teachings and his collection of poetry, which explored themes of divine love and mystical union.
In the 16th century, Ayin Akbari was a renowned Muslim scholar and historian from India. He served as a minister in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and authored the famous historical work, the Akbarnama, which chronicled the life and reign of the emperor.
During the 17th century, Ayin ben Isaac Abulafia was a prominent Kabbalist and rabbinical scholar who lived in Spain and Italy. He was known for his contributions to the study of Jewish mysticism and his writings on the Kabbalah.
In more recent times, Ayin Rand was a Russian-American writer and philosopher who lived from 1905 to 1982. She is best known for her novels "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged," which promoted her philosophical system of Objectivism, emphasizing reason, individualism, and laissez-faire capitalism.
People
Ayin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ayin 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
Ayin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ayin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ayin 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 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Ayin a common name?
We classify Ayin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ayin most popular?
The single biggest year for Ayin was 2014, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ayin is about 9 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 Ayin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ayin a male name?
Yes, 66.7% of people registered as Ayin 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 Ayin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ayin 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 Ayin 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 called Ayin?
You can see how many people have the name Ayin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.