Fariha
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "joyful" or "happy one".
Name Census estimates that about 504 living Americans carry the first name Fariha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fariha today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fariha births was 1998 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fariha. 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 Fariha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
504
~ 1 in 680,068 Americans
Peak year
1998
25 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,709
Tracked since 1983
Census
Fariha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,122 people with the first name Fariha, which placed it at #11,421 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
#11,421
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,122 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
87.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fariha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fariha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Fariha 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 Fariha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander87.9% · 986
- White4.8% · 54
- Two or more races4.1% · 46
- Black or African American2.3% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Fariha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fariha from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 151 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Fariha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fariha 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 Fariha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Farihas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Fariha, while California, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fariha
The name Fariha is of Arabic origin and is derived from the Arabic root word "faraha," which means "joy" or "happiness." It is a feminine name that has been in use for centuries across various regions of the Middle East and North Africa.
In Arabic culture, the name Fariha is often associated with the concepts of joy, delight, and contentment. It is believed to have been inspired by the Quranic teachings that encourage Muslims to seek happiness and contentment in their lives through faith and good deeds.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Fariha can be traced back to the medieval period in various historical texts and records from the Islamic world. One notable example is Fariha bint Al-Jahiz, a renowned 9th-century scholar and writer from Basra, Iraq, who was known for her intellectual contributions and literary works.
Throughout history, several influential and notable individuals have borne the name Fariha. One of the most prominent figures was Fariha Al-Nabulsi, a 17th-century Syrian poet and scholar who gained recognition for her exceptional literary skills and contributions to Arabic literature. She was born in Damascus in 1640 and is remembered for her poetic works that explored themes of love, spirituality, and social commentary.
Another notable Fariha was Fariha Zarnegar, an Iranian painter and artist who lived in the 20th century. Born in 1923 in Tehran, she was celebrated for her vibrant and expressive paintings that captured the essence of Iranian culture and traditions. Her works are considered significant contributions to the modern art movement in Iran.
In the realm of politics and activism, Fariha Naqvi-Mohamed, a South African human rights activist and lawyer, made a lasting impact. Born in 1964, she dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of marginalized communities and played a crucial role in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.
Fariha Khaled, a contemporary Emirati author and journalist, has also gained recognition for her literary works exploring themes of identity, culture, and women's rights in the Arab world. Born in 1975 in Dubai, she has published several acclaimed novels and essays that have garnered critical acclaim.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Fariha, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human experience and achievement.
People
Fariha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fariha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fariha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fariha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 504 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fariha 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 680,068 US residents.
Is Fariha a common name?
We classify Fariha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 513 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fariha most popular?
The single biggest year for Fariha was 1998, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fariha 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 Fariha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,122 people with the name Fariha, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,421 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 Fariha 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 Fariha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fariha appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,127 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Fariha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fariha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 87.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Fariha most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Fariha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (986 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 Fariha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fariha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fariha 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 Fariha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fariha 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 Fariha 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 share the name Fariha?
Find out how many people have the name Fariha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.