Ha
A Persian masculine name meaning "truth" or "righteous".
Name Census estimates that about 471 living Americans carry the first name Ha. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Ha today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ha births was 1984 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ha. 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
471
~ 1 in 727,716 Americans
Peak year
1984
37 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1996 SSA rank
#9,526
Tracked since 1976
Gender
Gender distribution for Ha
Ha leans heavily female at 85.3% of total registrations, but 73 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Ha as a male name
- Ranked #9,526 in 1996
- 5 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1981 (9 births)
Ha as a female name
- Ranked #15,289 in 2013
- 6 female births in 2013
- Peak: 1984 (29 births)
Popularity
Ha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ha from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 269 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ha 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 Ha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Has live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Louisiana, Texas recorded the most babies named Ha, while Texas, Louisiana, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ha
The given name Ha has its origins in ancient China, where it was likely derived from the Mandarin word 'ha' meaning 'good' or 'excellent'. It is believed to have been in use as a name since at least the Zhou Dynasty, which spanned from around the 11th century BC to 256 BC.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Ha can be found in the classic Chinese text, the Analects of Confucius. In this work, there is a mention of a disciple named Ha Zhong, who lived during the 5th century BC. The name Ha also appears in other ancient Chinese historical records and literature.
In the realm of religious scriptures, the name Ha is not widely documented. However, there are some Buddhist texts that mention individuals with this name, though their historical significance is unclear.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Ha. One such person was Ha Qizhen, a Chinese painter and calligrapher who lived during the 17th century AD, renowned for his landscape paintings and calligraphic works.
Another notable figure was Ha Si'en, a Chinese general and military strategist who played a crucial role in the Taiping Rebellion, which lasted from 1850 to 1864. He was born in 1826 and served as a commander in the Qing imperial forces.
In the field of literature, Ha Jingguan was a prominent Chinese author and poet who lived during the 11th century AD. He is particularly known for his contributions to the genre of ci poetry, which was popular during the Song Dynasty.
Moving to more recent times, Ha Xilien was a Chinese architect and urban planner who lived from 1879 to 1972. He played a significant role in the development of modern architecture in China and was involved in the design of several notable buildings and urban planning projects.
Lastly, Ha Yue was a Chinese actress and singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. Born in 1924, she was known for her roles in numerous films and her beautiful singing voice, earning her the title of "The Golden Voice of Shanghai."
People
Ha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ha as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 471 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ha 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 727,716 US residents.
Is Ha a common name?
We classify Ha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 495 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ha most popular?
The single biggest year for Ha was 1984, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ha is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ha a female name?
Yes, 85.3% of people registered as Ha 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.
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.