Azadeh
A feminine Persian name meaning "free" or "freedom".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Azadeh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Azadeh today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Azadeh births was 1979 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Azadeh. 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
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
1979
32 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2023 SSA rank
#15,520
Tracked since 1978
Census
Azadeh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 994 people with the first name Azadeh, which placed it at #12,493 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
#12,493
National first-name rank
People counted
994
994 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Azadeh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Azadeh is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.7%) and Hispanic (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 Azadeh 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 Azadeh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.9% · 864
- Two or more races9.7% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 10
- Black or African American0.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4
Popularity
Azadeh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Azadeh from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 73 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Azadeh 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 Azadeh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Azadehs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Azadeh
The name Azadeh has its origins in the Persian language and culture, and its roots can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Persian word "azad," meaning "free" or "liberated." The name is believed to have been used in Persia (modern-day Iran) since the Sassanid Empire, which ruled from the 3rd to the 7th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Azadeh can be found in the Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran, composed by the renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century AD. In this literary masterpiece, Azadeh is mentioned as the name of a character, though little is known about her significance or role.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Azadeh. One of the earliest was Azadeh Eslami (c. 1050 - c. 1100), a Persian poet and scholar from the Seljuk Empire era. Her works, though not extensively preserved, were praised for their elegance and depth.
Another prominent figure was Azadeh Moaveni (born 1976), an Iranian-American journalist and author known for her insightful writings on Middle Eastern affairs. Her book "Lipstick Jihad" (2005) explored the lives of Iranian women and their struggles for freedom and identity.
In the realm of arts and culture, Azadeh Namdari (born 1976) is a celebrated Iranian actress who has garnered acclaim for her performances in both Iranian and international films. Her portrayal of complex and empowered female characters has earned her critical acclaim and numerous accolades.
The name Azadeh has also been associated with political and social activism. Azadeh Kian (born 1959) is an Iranian-French sociologist and women's rights activist who has dedicated her work to promoting gender equality and human rights in Iran and the Middle East.
Another notable figure is Azadeh Moaveni (born 1976), an Iranian-American journalist and author. Her book "Lipstick Jihad" (2005) provided insights into the lives of Iranian women and their struggles for freedom and identity, shedding light on the complex dynamics of gender and society in the region.
While these are just a few examples, the name Azadeh has been carried by many individuals throughout history, each contributing to the rich tapestry of Persian and Middle Eastern culture, literature, arts, and activism.
People
Azadeh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Azadeh 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
Azadeh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Azadeh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Azadeh 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Azadeh a common name?
We classify Azadeh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 170 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Azadeh most popular?
The single biggest year for Azadeh was 1979, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Azadeh is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Azadeh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 994 people with the name Azadeh, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,493 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 Azadeh 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 Azadeh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Azadeh appears almost entirely female. Of the 997 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Azadeh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Azadeh is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.7%) and Hispanic (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 Azadeh most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Azadeh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (864 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 Azadeh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Azadeh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Azadeh 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 Azadeh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Azadeh 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 Azadeh 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 named Azadeh?
Want to know how many Americans are named Azadeh? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.