Fatimatou
A feminine Arabic name derived from "Fatima", meaning "the weaner".
Name Census estimates that about 66 living Americans carry the first name Fatimatou. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fatimatou today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fatimatou births was 2006 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fatimatou. 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 Fatimatou with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Fatimatou. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
66
~ 1 in 5,193,248 Americans
Peak year
2006
8 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,978
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Fatimatou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fatimatou from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 35 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Fatimatou remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fatimatou 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 Fatimatou during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fatimatous live
Origin
Meaning and history of Fatimatou
The given name Fatimatou originates from the Arabic language and the Islamic faith. It is a feminine form derived from the name Fatimah, which holds immense significance in Islamic tradition. Fatimah was the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and is revered as one of the most influential women in Islamic history.
Fatimatou is a variant spelling commonly found in West and Central African countries, particularly in regions with a strong Islamic cultural influence. The name's roots can be traced back to the 7th century CE, when Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, lived and played a pivotal role in the early Islamic community.
Fatimah, the namesake of Fatimatou, is mentioned numerous times in the Quran and is regarded as a symbol of piety, wisdom, and resilience. Her life and teachings have been documented in various Islamic texts and historical records, solidifying her importance within the faith.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Fatimatou can be found in the writings of medieval Islamic scholars, who often referred to influential women by this name. Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Fatimatou.
Fatimatou Zahra (c. 1200-1250 CE) was a renowned Islamic scholar and poet from the Maghreb region of North Africa. Her works on Sufism and Islamic jurisprudence have had a lasting impact on the intellectual discourse of the time.
Fatimatou Bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya (c. 800-880 CE) was a Muslim woman from present-day Morocco who founded the world's oldest continuously operating university, Al-Qarawiyyin, in the city of Fez.
Fatimatou Diallo (1939-1976) was a Guinean writer and activist who played a significant role in the fight for women's rights and education in her country.
Fatimatou Ayouba (born 1975) is a renowned Nigerien activist and former Minister of Communication in Niger, known for her work in promoting women's empowerment and combating gender-based violence.
Fatimatou Tandja (born 1965) is a prominent Nigerien politician and the first woman to hold the position of Prime Minister of Niger, serving from 2000 to 2004.
People
Fatimatou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fatimatou 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
Fatimatou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fatimatou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 66 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fatimatou 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 5,193,248 US residents.
Is Fatimatou a common name?
We classify Fatimatou as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 67 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fatimatou most popular?
The single biggest year for Fatimatou was 2006, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fatimatou is about 10 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 Fatimatou in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fatimatou a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fatimatou 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 Fatimatou still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fatimatou 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 Fatimatou 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 many Americans are named Fatimatou?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.