Esam
A masculine Arabic name meaning "defender," "shield," or "protector."
Name Census estimates that about 57 living Americans carry the first name Esam. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Esam today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esam births was 2013 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esam. 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 Esam with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Esam. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
57
~ 1 in 6,013,234 Americans
Peak year
2013
8 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2015 SSA rank
#9,869
Tracked since 1977
Census
Esam in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 481 people with the first name Esam, which placed it at #21,195 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
#21,195
National first-name rank
People counted
481
481 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Esam
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Esam is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Black (6.4%). 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 Esam 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 Esam at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.2% · 381
- Two or more races6.7% · 32
- Black or African American6.4% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.0% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 8
Popularity
Esam: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Esam from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 34 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
Esam 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 Esam 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 Esam
The name Esam has its origins in Arabic culture and language. It is derived from the Arabic word "ism" which means "name" or "designation". The name Esam holds a strong connection to the Islamic faith and is often associated with principles of honor, respect, and righteousness.
One of the earliest references to the name Esam can be found in the Islamic texts, particularly in the Hadith literature, which are the recorded sayings and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. The name is mentioned in several accounts, often in the context of individuals renowned for their piety and devotion to the faith.
In the 8th century, Esam ibn Malik al-Qurashi was a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from Medina. He was highly regarded for his extensive knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and his contributions to the development of Islamic law.
During the 10th century, Esam al-Din Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Isfahani was a prominent Persian poet and writer. His poetic works were widely celebrated for their elegance and depth, and he is considered one of the most influential figures in Persian literature.
In the 12th century, Esam al-Din al-Isfahani was a renowned Islamic philosopher and theologian from Isfahan, Iran. He was known for his profound insights into the nature of existence and his influential writings on Islamic metaphysics.
Esam Pasha, born in 1805 in Egypt, was a prominent military leader and statesman during the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha. He served as the governor of several provinces and played a crucial role in the modernization efforts of Egypt during the 19th century.
Another notable figure was Esam Anwar Youssef, a Syrian writer and intellectual born in 1937. He was a prolific author and literary critic, renowned for his contributions to the Arab literary landscape and his advocacy for human rights and social justice.
These examples illustrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Esam, which has been carried by scholars, poets, philosophers, and influential figures throughout the centuries, leaving an indelible mark on the intellectual and cultural fabric of the Arab and Islamic world.
People
Esam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esam as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Esam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 57 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esam 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 6,013,234 US residents.
Is Esam a common name?
We classify Esam as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 58 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Esam most popular?
The single biggest year for Esam was 2013, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esam is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Esam in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 481 people with the name Esam, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,195 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 Esam 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 Esam?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Esam appears almost entirely male. Of the 485 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Esam?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Esam is White at 79.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Black (6.4%). 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 Esam most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Esam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.2% (381 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 Esam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Esam a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Esam 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 Esam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Esam 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 Esam 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 Esam?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.