Bashir
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "bearer of good news" or "announcer of glad tidings".
Name Census estimates that about 990 living Americans carry the first name Bashir. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bashir today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bashir births was 2020 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bashir. 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
990
~ 1 in 346,217 Americans
Peak year
2020
35 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,710
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Bashir: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bashir 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 273 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bashir remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bashir 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 Bashir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bashirs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York recorded the most babies named Bashir, while Ohio, Minnesota, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bashir
The name Bashir originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in the word "bashir" which means "bringer of good news" or "bearer of glad tidings." This name has a strong connection with the Islamic faith and is believed to have been in use since the early days of Islam.
The earliest recorded use of the name Bashir can be traced back to the 7th century AD when it appeared in various historical texts and records from the Arabian Peninsula. During this period, the name was particularly popular among Muslim families and was often given to boys in the hope that they would grow up to be messengers of good news and bringers of joy.
One of the most notable historical figures to bear the name Bashir was Bashir ibn Sa'd, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and a prominent military leader during the early Islamic conquests. He lived from approximately 605 to 683 AD and played a crucial role in the Muslim conquest of Persia and the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah.
Another prominent figure with the name Bashir was Bashir ibn Burd, a renowned Arabic poet who lived from 805 to 869 AD. He was highly respected for his literary contributions and is considered one of the most influential poets of the Abbasid era.
In the 12th century, Bashir al-Din Mahmud ibn Qays al-Razi, a renowned Persian physician and philosopher, made significant contributions to the field of medicine. He was born in 1149 AD and is credited with writing several important medical treatises that were widely studied and referenced for centuries.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Bashir continued to be popular, particularly among the ruling class. One notable figure was Bashir Agha, a powerful Ottoman statesman and military commander who lived from 1642 to 1711. He played a significant role in the Ottoman-Venetian wars and served as the governor of several provinces.
In more recent history, Bashir Gemayel, a Lebanese politician and military commander, was a prominent figure who bore this name. He was born in 1947 and served as the president-elect of Lebanon before his assassination in 1982, which sparked the Lebanese Civil War.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Bashir, a name that has been associated with good news, joy, and positivity across various cultures and time periods.
People
Bashir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bashir 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
Bashir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bashir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 990 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bashir 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 346,217 US residents.
Is Bashir a common name?
We classify Bashir as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,010 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bashir most popular?
The single biggest year for Bashir was 2020, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bashir is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bashir a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bashir 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.
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.