Azam
Of Arabic origin, meaning greatness, grandeur, or magnificence.
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Azam. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Azam today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Azam births was 2022 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Azam. 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 Azam with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
2022
14 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,999
Tracked since 1980
Census
Azam in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,187 people with the first name Azam, which placed it at #10,982 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
#10,982
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,187 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Azam
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Azam is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.2%) and Two or More Races (10.3%). 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 Azam 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 Azam at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.9% · 569
- Asian and Pacific Islander37.2% · 441
- Two or more races10.3% · 122
- Black or African American3.6% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 4
Popularity
Azam: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Azam from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 60 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Azam remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Azam 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 Azam during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Azam
The name Azam is of Arabic origin and is derived from the root word "azm," which means "determination," "resolve," or "firmness." It is a name that has been in use for centuries within the Arabic-speaking world and Islamic cultures.
Azam is believed to have its roots in the pre-Islamic era, when it was used to describe someone with a strong and resolute character. The name gained further significance after the advent of Islam, as it embodied the qualities of steadfastness and perseverance, which are highly valued in the Islamic faith.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Azam can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. In Chapter 33, verse 39, the word "azam" is used to describe the Prophet Muhammad's unwavering determination and firmness in his mission.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Azam. One of the most famous is Azam Shah, the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1635. He was known for his military campaigns and his efforts to consolidate Mughal rule in India.
Another prominent figure with the name Azam is Al-Azam, an influential Islamic scholar and jurist from the 9th century. He is renowned for his contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence and his extensive writings on various aspects of Islamic law.
In the literary realm, Azam Abidi (1919-1988) was a renowned Urdu poet and writer from India. His works explored themes of love, spirituality, and social commentary, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential poets of the 20th century.
The name Azam has also been associated with political figures, such as Azam Khan (1923-2009), a prominent Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1985 to 1988.
Another notable individual bearing the name Azam is Azam Nazeer Tarar (1966-present), a prominent Pakistani lawyer and jurist who served as the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court from 2013 to 2015.
The name Azam continues to be popular in various parts of the world, particularly among Arabic-speaking and Muslim communities, as it carries a rich cultural and historical significance. Its enduring appeal lies in its connotation of strength, determination, and unwavering resolve, qualities that are highly valued across cultures.
People
Azam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Azam 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
Azam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Azam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Azam 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 Azam a common name?
We classify Azam 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, 199 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Azam most popular?
The single biggest year for Azam was 2022, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Azam is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Azam in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,187 people with the name Azam, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,982 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 Azam 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 Azam?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Azam on both sides of the split. Of the 1,191 people counted with this name, 600 were male (50.4%) and 591 were female (49.6%). 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 Azam?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Azam is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.2%) and Two or More Races (10.3%). 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 Azam most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Azam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.9% (569 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 Azam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Azam a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Azam 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 Azam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Azam 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 Azam 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 Azam?
Want to know how many Americans are named Azam? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.