Chamia
Of Arabic origin, meaning "shelter" or "protection".
Name Census estimates that about 46 living Americans carry the first name Chamia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chamia today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chamia births was 1997 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chamia. 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 Chamia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
46
~ 1 in 7,451,181 Americans
Peak year
1997
8 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2006 SSA rank
#17,664
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Chamia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chamia from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 16 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
Chamia 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 Chamia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chamia
The name Chamia has its origins in ancient Arabic and Persian cultures, dating back to the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic word "chamiah," which means "gathering" or "assembly." This name was likely given to children born during important gatherings or celebrations within their communities.
In the early Islamic era, the name Chamia was mentioned in several historical texts and records, including the works of renowned scholars and poets. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Chamia bint Bukayr, a renowned poetess from the Umayyad Caliphate who lived in the 7th century AD.
Throughout the centuries, the name Chamia has been adopted by various cultures and regions influenced by Arabic and Persian traditions. In the 10th century, Chamia al-Baghdadi was a prominent female scholar and writer from Baghdad, known for her contributions to Islamic literature and poetry.
During the Abbasid Caliphate, in the 9th century AD, Chamia al-Khurasani was a notable physician and philosopher from Khorasan, renowned for her expertise in medicine and natural sciences.
In the 12th century, Chamia al-Andalusi was a celebrated poet and calligrapher from Andalusia, Spain, who played a significant role in preserving and promoting Arabic literature and arts during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization in the Iberian Peninsula.
Another notable figure with the name Chamia was Chamia al-Dimashqi, a Syrian scholar and mystic who lived in Damascus during the 13th century. She was revered for her profound knowledge of Islamic theology and her contributions to Sufism.
While the name Chamia has its roots in the Middle East and Islamic cultures, it has also been adopted and adapted by various other cultures and regions over the centuries, reflecting the rich diversity and cross-cultural influences that have shaped the history of names and their meanings.
People
Chamia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chamia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chamia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chamia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 46 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chamia 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 7,451,181 US residents.
Is Chamia a common name?
We classify Chamia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 48 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chamia most popular?
The single biggest year for Chamia was 1997, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chamia is about 33 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 Chamia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chamia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chamia 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 Chamia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chamia 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 Chamia 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 common is the name Chamia?
See how many people have the name Chamia on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.