Bayek
An Arabic masculine name meaning "one who is cheerful or laughing".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Bayek. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bayek today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bayek births was 2018 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bayek. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bayek. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
2018
7 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2018 SSA rank
#9,794
Tracked since 2018
Popularity
Bayek: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Bayek 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 Bayek during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Bayek
The name Bayek has its origins in ancient Egypt, dating back to the time of the pharaohs. It is derived from the Egyptian words "ba" meaning "soul" or "spirit," and "yek" meaning "eternal" or "everlasting." Together, the name Bayek can be interpreted as "eternal soul" or "everlasting spirit."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Bayek can be found in hieroglyphic inscriptions and papyrus scrolls from the New Kingdom period, which spanned from around 1550 BC to 1070 BC. During this time, Egypt was a powerful and influential civilization, and the name Bayek may have been associated with religious or spiritual beliefs.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Bayek was a high priest who lived during the reign of Ramesses II, one of Egypt's most celebrated pharaohs, who ruled from around 1279 BC to 1213 BC. This priest, known as Bayek the Elder, was responsible for overseeing the construction of the magnificent Ramesseum, a mortuary temple built to honor the legacy of Ramesses II.
Another prominent individual with the name Bayek was a scribe and historian who lived during the 26th Dynasty of Egypt, around 664 BC to 525 BC. He is credited with chronicling the events and accomplishments of several pharaohs, including Psamtik I and Necho II.
In the realm of ancient Egyptian literature, the name Bayek appears in the Book of the Dead, a collection of funerary texts that were believed to guide the deceased through the afterlife. It is possible that the name's association with the concepts of the soul and eternity played a role in its inclusion in these sacred texts.
Beyond Egypt, the name Bayek has also been documented in other parts of the ancient world. In the 5th century BC, a Greek historian named Herodotus mentioned a Phoenician explorer named Bayek who was said to have circumnavigated Africa.
While the name Bayek has faded from common usage in modern times, it remains a significant part of ancient Egyptian history and culture, embodying the concepts of the eternal soul and the enduring spirit of the pharaohs and their subjects.
People
Bayek + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bayek 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
Bayek: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bayek?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bayek 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Bayek a common name?
We classify Bayek as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bayek most popular?
The single biggest year for Bayek was 2018, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bayek is about 8 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 Bayek in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bayek a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bayek 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 Bayek still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bayek 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 Bayek 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 Bayek?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.