Ghada
Arabic feminine name meaning "morning twilight" or "lush vegetation".
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the first name Ghada. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ghada today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ghada births was 1978 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ghada. 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 Ghada with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
126
~ 1 in 2,720,273 Americans
Peak year
1978
9 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2021 SSA rank
#14,074
Tracked since 1977
Census
Ghada in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,069 people with the first name Ghada, which placed it at #7,393 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
#7,393
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,069 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
93.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ghada
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ghada is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Ghada 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 Ghada at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 1,925
- Two or more races2.9% · 60
- Black or African American2.7% · 56
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Ghada: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ghada from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 36 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
Ghada 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 Ghada 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 Ghada
The name Ghada has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, with roots dating back to the 7th century. It is derived from the Arabic word "ghada," which means "tomorrow" or "future." The name carries connotations of hope, renewal, and potential.
In the early days of Islam, the name Ghada was sometimes bestowed upon children as a symbolic expression of the parents' aspirations for their offspring's future. It was a name that represented the promise of better days to come and the idea of looking ahead with optimism.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ghada can be found in the works of renowned Arab poets from the 8th and 9th centuries. These poets often used the name as a metaphor for the dawn, signifying the beginning of a new day and the potential for growth and renewal.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Ghada. One of the earliest examples is Ghada bint al-Ash'ath (c. 615 – c. 685), a famous Arab poet and scholar who lived during the early Islamic era. Her works were highly regarded for their eloquence and wisdom.
Another prominent figure was Ghada al-Samman (1942 - 2017), a renowned Syrian novelist and journalist. Her novels explored themes of identity, gender, and social issues in the Arab world, earning her critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
In the realm of music, Ghada Shbeir (born 1956) is a celebrated Lebanese singer and songwriter. Her unique blend of traditional Arabic music and contemporary styles has made her a beloved figure in the Middle Eastern music scene.
Ghada Amer (born 1963) is a renowned Egyptian-American artist known for her intricate embroidered paintings that explore themes of female identity and sexuality. Her works have been exhibited in prestigious institutions around the world.
Ghada Karmi (born 1939) is a Palestinian author, academic, and activist. Her memoir, "In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story," provides a powerful account of her family's displacement during the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict and their struggle for a homeland.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have carried the name Ghada throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural and intellectual traditions associated with this name.
People
Ghada + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ghada as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ghada: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ghada?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 126 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ghada 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 2,720,273 US residents.
Is Ghada a common name?
We classify Ghada as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 131 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ghada most popular?
The single biggest year for Ghada was 1978, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ghada is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ghada in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,069 people with the name Ghada, or 0.69 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,393 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 Ghada 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 Ghada?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ghada appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,074 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Ghada?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ghada is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Ghada most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ghada in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (1,925 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 Ghada in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ghada a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ghada 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 Ghada still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ghada 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 Ghada 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 Ghada?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Ghada at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.