Baheer
A masculine Arabic name meaning ocean or sea.
Name Census estimates that about 8 living Americans carry the first name Baheer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Baheer today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Baheer births was 2022 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Baheer. 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 Baheer with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Baheer. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
8
~ 1 in 42,844,292 Americans
Peak year
2022
8 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2022 SSA rank
#9,067
Tracked since 2022
Popularity
Baheer: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Baheer 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 Baheer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 8 | 0 | 8 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Baheer
The name Baheer is of Arabic origin and can be traced back to the medieval period in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word "bahr," which means "sea" or "ocean." The name is thought to have been given to individuals who lived near the sea or were associated with maritime activities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Baheer can be found in the 9th century, when a scholar and astronomer named Baheer ibn Wahban al-Qurashi was known for his contributions to the field of mathematics and astronomy. He lived in Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate and was a contemporary of the famous mathematician and astronomer, Al-Khwarizmi.
In the 12th century, a prominent Sufi mystic named Baheer al-Din al-Suhrawardi was born in Suhraward, Iran. He founded the Suhrawardiyya Sufi order and was known for his teachings on the philosophy of Illumination (Ishraq). His works had a significant influence on the development of Islamic philosophy and mysticism.
Another notable figure with the name Baheer was Baheer al-Din Zakariya, a 13th-century Persian physician and philosopher. He was born in Qazvin, Iran, and is best known for his medical treatise, "Al-Taqwim al-Abdan fi Tadbir al-Insan" (The Maintenance of the Body and the Regulation of Man), which was widely studied in the medieval Islamic world.
In the 16th century, Baheer al-Din al-Amili was a prominent Shia scholar and jurist from Jabal Amil, modern-day Lebanon. He was a prolific writer and is known for his works on Islamic jurisprudence, including "Al-Rawdah al-Bahiyyah fi Sharh al-Lam'ah al-Dimashqiyyah" (The Splendid Garden: A Commentary on the Damascus Brilliance).
During the 19th century, Baheer al-Din al-Nabulsi was a renowned Syrian scholar and Sufi mystic. He was born in Nablus, Palestine, and is known for his works on Sufism and Islamic spirituality, such as "Al-Qawl al-Sadid fi Masa'il al-Tawhid" (The True Word on the Issues of Divine Unity).
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Baheer. While the name may have originated from the Arabic word for "sea" or "ocean," it has been carried by scholars, mystics, physicians, and intellectuals across various fields and regions of the Islamic world.
People
Baheer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Baheer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Baheer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Baheer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Baheer 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 42,844,292 US residents.
Is Baheer a common name?
We classify Baheer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 24.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Baheer most popular?
The single biggest year for Baheer was 2022, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Baheer is about 4 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 Baheer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Baheer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Baheer 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 Baheer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Baheer 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 Baheer 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 Baheer?
You can see how many people share the name Baheer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.