Fatmata
A feminine Muslim name with West African origins meaning "maiden, young woman".
Name Census estimates that about 299 living Americans carry the first name Fatmata. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fatmata today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fatmata births was 2006 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fatmata. 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 Fatmata with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
299
~ 1 in 1,146,336 Americans
Peak year
2006
16 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,394
Tracked since 1990
Census
Fatmata in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,375 people with the first name Fatmata, which placed it at #9,894 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
#9,894
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,375 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
97.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fatmata
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fatmata is Black at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.2%) and White (0.8%). 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 Fatmata 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 Fatmata at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American97.5% · 1,341
- Two or more races1.2% · 17
- White0.8% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Fatmata: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fatmata from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 112 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Fatmata remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fatmata 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 Fatmata during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fatmatas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Maryland, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Fatmata, while Ohio, New York, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fatmata
The name Fatmata is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, where it is derived from the root word "fatama," which means "to wean" or "to separate." This name has been in use for centuries and has its roots in various cultures and regions across the Middle East and North Africa.
In the 7th century, during the rise of Islam, the name Fatmata gained significant prominence as it was the name of one of the daughters of the Prophet Muhammad. Fatmata bint Muhammad, also known as Fatima al-Zahra, was born around 605 CE in Mecca and is revered as one of the most important figures in Islamic history. She is considered a role model for Muslim women and is often referred to as the "Lady of Paradise."
The name Fatmata can be found in various historical texts and religious scriptures, including the Quran and Hadith literature. It is also mentioned in several Islamic traditions and stories, highlighting its deep-rooted connection to the Islamic faith and culture.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Fatmata can be traced back to the 7th century, with Fatmata bint Muhammad herself. Throughout history, several notable women have borne this name, including Fatmata al-Fihri, a Muslim woman born in 800 CE who founded the first degree-granting university in the world, the University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco.
Another famous Fatmata was Fatmata al-Nisaburi, a 10th-century Persian scholar and poet who contributed significantly to the fields of literature and Islamic jurisprudence. Fatmata al-Batayhi, born in 1148 CE, was a prominent Islamic jurist and scholar from Damascus, known for her expertise in Sharia law and legal rulings.
In the 12th century, Fatmata bint Muhammad al-Ajami was a renowned scholar and poet from Ceuta, Spain, who was highly respected for her contributions to Arabic literature. Fatmata al-Muadhdhin, born in the 13th century, was a prominent Sufi mystic and spiritual leader from Cairo, Egypt, renowned for her wisdom and teachings.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Fatmata, reflecting its rich cultural and religious significance across various regions and time periods.
People
Fatmata + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fatmata 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
Fatmata: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fatmata?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 299 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fatmata 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 1,146,336 US residents.
Is Fatmata a common name?
We classify Fatmata as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 303 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fatmata most popular?
The single biggest year for Fatmata was 2006, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fatmata is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fatmata in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,375 people with the name Fatmata, or 0.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,894 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 Fatmata 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 Fatmata?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fatmata appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,373 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Fatmata?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fatmata is Black at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.2%) and White (0.8%). 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 Fatmata most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Fatmata in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (1,341 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 Fatmata in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fatmata a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fatmata 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 Fatmata still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fatmata 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 Fatmata 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 Americans are named Fatmata?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.