Belami
A French name derived from "bel ami" meaning "good friend" or "sweetheart".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Belami. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Belami today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Belami births was 2022 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Belami. 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 Belami. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2022
6 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2022 SSA rank
#11,043
Tracked since 2022
Popularity
Belami: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Belami 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 Belami 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 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Belami
The given name Belami has its origins in the ancient Sumerian civilization, which flourished in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) between the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. Derived from the Sumerian words "bel" meaning "lord" and "ami" meaning "friend," Belami can be interpreted to signify "friend of the lord" or "beloved of the lord."
This name finds mention in various cuneiform tablets and inscriptions from the Sumerian era, often associated with individuals of religious or royal significance. One of the earliest known references comes from the Sumerian King List, an ancient text detailing the kings of Sumer, where a ruler named Belami is recorded as having reigned in the city-state of Kish around 2800 BCE.
As the Sumerian culture influenced and intermingled with subsequent civilizations in the region, such as the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians, the name Belami likely spread and evolved in various forms. It is possible that the name may have been adopted or adapted by other Semitic cultures in the region.
Throughout history, several notable individuals bore the name Belami. One such figure was Belami the Scribe, a prominent Sumerian scholar and copyist who lived during the reign of King Shulgi of Ur in the 21st century BCE. His meticulous copies of ancient texts and literature have contributed significantly to our understanding of Sumerian culture and language.
Another historical figure with this name was Belami ibn Abi Bakr, an 11th-century Arab scholar and philosopher from Baghdad. He is renowned for his contributions to the fields of logic, metaphysics, and Islamic theology, and his works were widely studied in the medieval Islamic world.
In the realm of literature, Belami was also the name of a character in the epic poems of the ancient Mesopotamian hero Gilgamesh. This mythical figure, often portrayed as a close companion or advisor to Gilgamesh, played a significant role in the narrative and symbolized the enduring bond of friendship.
Moving forward in time, Belami was the name of a 16th-century Ottoman calligrapher and artist renowned for his intricate and beautiful works. His calligraphic pieces adorned mosques, palaces, and manuscripts throughout the Ottoman Empire, showcasing his mastery of the art form.
Lastly, Belami Nambiar was an 18th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer from Kerala, known for his contributions to the fields of trigonometry and spherical geometry. His treatise on mathematics, "Belami Nambiar's Sphuta," remains an important work in the study of traditional Indian mathematics.
People
Belami + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Belami 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
Belami: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Belami?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Belami 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Belami a common name?
We classify Belami as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Belami most popular?
The single biggest year for Belami was 2022, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Belami 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 Belami in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Belami a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Belami 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 Belami still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Belami 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 Belami 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 named Belami?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.