Bushra
Good tidings, a feminine name of Arabic origin.
Name Census estimates that about 973 living Americans carry the first name Bushra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bushra today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bushra births was 2014 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bushra. 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 Bushra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
973
~ 1 in 352,266 Americans
Peak year
2014
49 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,042
Tracked since 1983
Census
Bushra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,432 people with the first name Bushra, which placed it at #5,108 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
#5,108
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,432 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
55.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bushra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bushra is Asian/Pacific Islander at 55.4%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Black (8.8%). 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 Bushra 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 Bushra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander55.4% · 1,901
- White31.4% · 1,077
- Black or African American8.8% · 303
- Two or more races3.9% · 135
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Popularity
Bushra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bushra from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 346 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bushra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bushra 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 Bushra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bushras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Minnesota, New York, California recorded the most babies named Bushra, while New Jersey, Ohio, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 43 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bushra
The name Bushra has its origins in the Arabic language. It is derived from the root word "bashar," which means "to announce good news" or "to give glad tidings." The name is believed to have been in use since the early days of Islam, around the 7th century AD.
The name Bushra is mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. In Chapter 10, Verse 64, it states: "For them are glad tidings (bushra) in the life of the present world." This verse refers to the rewards and blessings that believers will receive in this life and the hereafter.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Bushra is found in the hadiths, the record of the teachings and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. The wife of one of the Prophet's companions, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, was named Bushra.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Bushra. One of the most famous was Bushra bint Safwan (born around 610 AD), a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and one of the first women to embrace Islam.
Another noteworthy figure was Bushra al-Mustadiya (died in 1262 AD), a Sufi mystic and poet from Damascus, Syria. She is known for her spiritual writings and her influence on the Sufi movement in the region.
In the 19th century, Bushra Khayyat (1826-1890) was a renowned Syrian calligrapher and artist. She is celebrated for her mastery of the Arabic script and her contributions to the preservation of Islamic artistic traditions.
More recently, Bushra Ansari (born in 1956) is a renowned Pakistani comedian, actress, and playwright. She is widely recognized for her work in both television and theater, and has received numerous awards for her contributions to the entertainment industry.
Bushra al-Hallaq (born in 1969) is a Syrian writer and activist. She is known for her advocacy for women's rights and her efforts to promote peace and democracy in her home country.
The name Bushra has been popular among Muslims worldwide, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia. It is a name that carries a positive and uplifting meaning, representing the joy and good news that is associated with the Islamic faith.
People
Bushra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bushra 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
Bushra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bushra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 973 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bushra 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 352,266 US residents.
Is Bushra a common name?
We classify Bushra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 989 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bushra most popular?
The single biggest year for Bushra was 2014, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bushra is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bushra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,432 people with the name Bushra, or 1.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,108 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 Bushra 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 Bushra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bushra leans strongly female. 3,382 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 60 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Bushra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bushra is Asian/Pacific Islander at 55.4%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Black (8.8%). 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 Bushra most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Bushra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.4% (1,901 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 Bushra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bushra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bushra in the SSA data are female. 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 Bushra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bushra 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 Bushra 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 are named Bushra?
Want to know how many people have the name Bushra? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.