Besim
A masculine Islamic name of Arabic origin meaning "smiling".
Name Census estimates that about 31 living Americans carry the first name Besim. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Besim today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Besim births was 2002 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Besim. 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 Besim. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
31
~ 1 in 11,056,592 Americans
Peak year
2002
8 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2002 SSA rank
#7,720
Tracked since 1982
Census
Besim in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 384 people with the first name Besim, which placed it at #24,893 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
#24,893
National first-name rank
People counted
384
384 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
98.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Besim
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Besim is White at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Besim 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 Besim at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.4% · 378
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 5
- Black or African American0.3% · 1
Popularity
Besim: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Besim from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 15 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Besim 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 Besim during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Besims live
Origin
Meaning and history of Besim
The name Besim has its origins in the Turkish language and culture. It is derived from the Turkish word "besim," which means "nourishment" or "sustenance." The name is believed to have emerged during the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over a vast territory spanning parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Besim can be found in the 16th-century Ottoman court records. During this period, the name was primarily used within the Turkish-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, including modern-day Turkey, the Balkans, and parts of the Middle East.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Besim. One such individual was Besim Ömer Pasha (1804-1857), a prominent Ottoman statesman and diplomat who served as the Grand Vizier (prime minister) of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1857. Another notable figure was Besim Atalay (1888-1965), a Turkish novelist, playwright, and journalist who made significant contributions to the literary scene in the early 20th century.
In the field of arts and culture, Besim Ömer Akalın (1862-1940) was a renowned Turkish painter and calligrapher who played a crucial role in reviving traditional Ottoman art forms during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Additionally, Besim Dellaloğlu (1915-2008) was a celebrated Turkish actor who graced the stage and screen for over six decades, leaving an indelible mark on Turkish cinema and theater.
Moving beyond the Turkish context, Besim Bokshi (1892-1940) was an influential Albanian writer, poet, and journalist who played a pivotal role in the development of modern Albanian literature. His works explored themes of national identity, cultural heritage, and the struggle for independence from Ottoman rule.
While the name Besim has its roots in the Turkish language and culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and gained popularity in various regions over the centuries. Its enduring presence serves as a testament to the rich tapestry of cultural exchange and the enduring influence of linguistic traditions.
People
Besim + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Besim 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
Besim: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Besim?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Besim 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 11,056,592 US residents.
Is Besim a common name?
We classify Besim as "Very Rare". It ranks above 47% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 32 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Besim most popular?
The single biggest year for Besim was 2002, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Besim is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Besim in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 384 people with the name Besim, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,893 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 Besim 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 Besim?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Besim appears almost entirely male. Of the 384 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Besim?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Besim is White at 98.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Besim most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Besim in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (378 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 Besim in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Besim a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Besim 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 Besim still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Besim 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 Besim 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 the name Besim?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.