Farrah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "joyous" or "happy".
Name Census estimates that about 11,547 living Americans carry the first name Farrah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Farrah today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Farrah births was 1977 (1,515 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Farrah. 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 Farrah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 29,683 Americans
Peak year
1977
1,515 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
1980 SSA rank
#1,150
Tracked since 1968
Census
Farrah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,178 people with the first name Farrah, which placed it at #2,438 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
#2,438
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,178 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Farrah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Farrah is White at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.8%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Farrah 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 Farrah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.2% · 5,822
- Black or African American18.8% · 1,911
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 961
- Two or more races6.5% · 664
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.5% · 660
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 160
Gender
Gender distribution for Farrah
Out of the 11,991 babies given the name Farrah since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Farrah as a male name
- Ranked #5,116 in 1980
- 7 male births in 1980
- Peak: 1980 (7 births)
Farrah as a female name
- Ranked #1,150 in 2024
- 209 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1977 (1,515 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Farrah appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,175 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Farrah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Farrah from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,797 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Farrah 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 Farrah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Farrahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Farrah, while Alaska, South Dakota, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 204 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Farrah
The name Farrah has its origins in the Persian language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is believed to be derived from the Persian word "farr," which means "splendor" or "glory." The name was popular among the Persian nobility and aristocracy, often given to daughters as a symbol of their family's prestige and honor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Farrah can be found in the ancient Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, written by the celebrated poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. In the epic, Farrah is mentioned as the daughter of a powerful king, highlighting the regal connotations of the name.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Farrah. One of the most famous was Farrah Diba (1938-present), the former Empress of Iran and the third wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Her beauty and elegance made her an iconic figure in the 1960s and 1970s.
Another prominent figure was Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009), an American actress and model best known for her role in the television series "Charlie's Angels." Her stunning looks and feathered hairstyle made her a cultural icon in the 1970s and helped popularize the name Farrah in the Western world.
In ancient Egyptian history, Farrah was the name of a priestess who served in the temple of Isis during the reign of Ramses II (1279-1213 BC). She was renowned for her wisdom and spiritual guidance, and her name was inscribed on temple walls as a symbol of her devotion.
The name Farrah has also been associated with Islamic culture and history. One notable figure was Farrah Naaz (1957-present), an Indian actress and dancer who rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s in Bollywood films. Her name, which means "beauty" or "glamour" in Persian, reflected her on-screen persona and contributed to the popularity of the name in South Asia.
Farrah has been a popular name across various cultures and time periods, carrying connotations of beauty, splendor, and grace. Its rich history and cultural significance have made it a timeless and meaningful choice for parents seeking a name with a strong heritage and meaningful origins.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Farrah
People
Farrah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Farrah 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
Farrah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Farrah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,547 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Farrah 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 29,683 US residents.
Is Farrah a common name?
We classify Farrah as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,991 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Farrah most popular?
The single biggest year for Farrah was 1977, when 1,515 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Farrah is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Farrah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,178 people with the name Farrah, or 3.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,438 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 Farrah 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 Farrah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Farrah appears almost entirely female. Of the 10,175 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 Farrah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Farrah is White at 57.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.8%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Farrah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Farrah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.2% (5,822 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 Farrah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Farrah a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Farrah 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 Farrah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Farrah 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 Farrah 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 common is the name Farrah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.