Ghassan
A masculine Arabic name meaning "precious stream" or "waterfall".
Name Census estimates that about 389 living Americans carry the first name Ghassan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ghassan today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ghassan births was 2016 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ghassan. 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.
People living today
389
~ 1 in 881,117 Americans
Peak year
2016
19 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,725
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Ghassan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ghassan 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 120 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ghassan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ghassan 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 Ghassan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ghassans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ghassan
The name Ghassan has its origins in the Arabic language and can be traced back to the pre-Islamic era in the Arabian Peninsula. It is derived from the Arabic word "ghassana," which means "to be strong" or "to be brave." The name was particularly popular among the Ghassanids, an ancient Arab Christian dynasty that ruled parts of modern-day Syria, Jordan, and Palestine from the 3rd to the 7th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ghassan can be found in the ancient Arab poetry and literature from the pre-Islamic period. The name appears in several poems and stories, often associated with bravery, strength, and heroism.
In the Islamic tradition, the name Ghassan is not directly mentioned in the Quran or the hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad). However, it has been used by Muslims throughout history, particularly in the Arab world.
One of the earliest and most notable figures to bear the name Ghassan was Al-Ghassan ibn Ubayd Allah, a 7th-century Arab chieftain and military leader who played a significant role in the early Muslim conquests. He was born in the late 6th century and died around 638 CE.
Another prominent historical figure with the name Ghassan was Al-Ghassan ibn 'Abd al-Malik, a member of the Umayyad dynasty who served as the governor of several provinces in the early 8th century. He was born in 685 CE and died in 743 CE.
In the 9th century, Ghassan ibn 'Abbad was a renowned Arab poet and scholar from Iraq. He was known for his mastery of the Arabic language and his contributions to literary criticism. He lived from 816 CE to 890 CE.
During the Mamluk period in Egypt and Syria, Ghassan ibn 'Ali al-Khalili was a prominent Shafi'i jurist and scholar who lived from 1271 CE to 1349 CE. He authored several works on Islamic jurisprudence and theology.
In more recent history, Ghassan Tueni was a prominent Lebanese writer, journalist, and politician. He served as the editor-in-chief of the influential newspaper An-Nahar and was a vocal advocate for freedom of speech and democracy in Lebanon. He was born in 1926 and died in 2012.
People
Ghassan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ghassan 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
Ghassan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ghassan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 389 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ghassan 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 881,117 US residents.
Is Ghassan a common name?
We classify Ghassan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 396 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ghassan most popular?
The single biggest year for Ghassan was 2016, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ghassan is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ghassan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ghassan in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.