Baraka
A masculine Arabic name meaning "blessing" or "benediction".
Name Census estimates that about 384 living Americans carry the first name Baraka. It is a predominantly male name (94.1% of registrations). The average person named Baraka today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Baraka births was 2021 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Baraka. 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 Baraka with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
384
~ 1 in 892,589 Americans
Peak year
2021
24 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,451
Tracked since 1971
Census
Baraka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 559 people with the first name Baraka, which placed it at #19,094 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
#19,094
National first-name rank
People counted
559
559 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baraka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Baraka is Black at 81.8%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Baraka 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 Baraka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.8% · 457
- White8.2% · 46
- Two or more races5.5% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Baraka
Baraka leans heavily male at 94.1% of total registrations, but 23 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Baraka as a male name
- Ranked #5,451 in 2024
- 17 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (24 births)
Baraka as a female name
- Ranked #15,893 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 1981 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Baraka on both sides of the split. Of the 561 people counted with this name, 422 were male (75.2%) and 139 were female (24.8%).
Popularity
Baraka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Baraka from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 119 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Baraka remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Baraka 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 Baraka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Barakas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Baraka
The name Baraka originates from the Arabic language and is derived from the root word "baraka," which means "blessing" or "divine grace." The name has a deep spiritual and religious significance in the Islamic tradition.
Baraka is believed to have its roots in the ancient Middle Eastern cultures and can be traced back to the pre-Islamic era. It was commonly used as a name among the Arab tribes and later gained popularity throughout the Islamic world.
In the Islamic faith, the concept of baraka is closely associated with the blessings bestowed by Allah upon individuals, places, or objects. It is believed that individuals with the name Baraka are blessed with divine favor and are expected to lead a life of righteousness and virtue.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Baraka can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. In several verses, the term "baraka" is used to refer to the blessings and favors bestowed upon the believers by Allah.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Baraka. One of the most famous was Baraka ibn Malik (c. 668-713 CE), a renowned Arab poet and scholar from the Umayyad era. He was renowned for his eloquence and mastery of the Arabic language.
Another prominent figure was Baraka Khan (c. 1368-1438), a ruler of the Golden Horde, a Mongol khanate that ruled over parts of modern-day Russia and Ukraine. He is credited with reviving the Golden Horde's power and influence during his reign.
In the 19th century, Baraka al-Samarkandi (1858-1925) was a prominent Sufi scholar and spiritual leader from Samarkand, now in modern-day Uzbekistan. He played a significant role in the spread of Islamic teachings and the preservation of Sufi traditions in Central Asia.
Another notable figure was Baraka Gomis (1927-2007), a Senegalese writer, poet, and cultural activist. He was a prominent figure in the Negritude movement, which celebrated the cultural heritage and identity of people of African descent.
Lastly, Baraka Nassor (born 1985) is a contemporary Tanzanian musician and songwriter known for his contributions to the Bongo Flava genre, a popular music style in East Africa that blends traditional African rhythms with contemporary influences.
People
Baraka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Baraka 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
Baraka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Baraka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 384 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Baraka 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 892,589 US residents.
Is Baraka a common name?
We classify Baraka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 392 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Baraka most popular?
The single biggest year for Baraka was 2021, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Baraka is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Baraka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 559 people with the name Baraka, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,094 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 Baraka 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 Baraka?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Baraka on both sides of the split. Of the 561 people counted with this name, 422 were male (75.2%) and 139 were female (24.8%). 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 Baraka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Baraka is Black at 81.8%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Baraka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Baraka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.8% (457 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 Baraka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Baraka a male name?
Yes, 94.1% of people registered as Baraka 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 Baraka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Baraka 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 Baraka 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 have Baraka as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.