Habiba
A feminine Arabic name meaning "beloved" or "well-loved".
Name Census estimates that about 754 living Americans carry the first name Habiba. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Habiba today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Habiba births was 2014 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Habiba. 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 Habiba with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
754
~ 1 in 454,581 Americans
Peak year
2014
46 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,843
Tracked since 1972
Census
Habiba in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,190 people with the first name Habiba, which placed it at #7,072 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
#7,072
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,190 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
37.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Habiba
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Habiba is Black at 37.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (31.8%) and White (26.0%). 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 Habiba 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 Habiba at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American37.0% · 811
- Asian and Pacific Islander31.8% · 696
- White26.0% · 569
- Two or more races4.3% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Habiba: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Habiba 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 343 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Habiba remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Habiba 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 Habiba during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Habibas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Habiba, while Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Habiba
The name Habiba has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "habib," which means "beloved" or "dear one." The name first appeared during the early Islamic period, around the 7th century CE, and has been used primarily in Arab and Muslim communities.
Habiba is a name that carries significant cultural and religious significance. In Islamic tradition, it is one of the names attributed to the Prophet Muhammad's daughter, Fatima al-Zahra. This association has contributed to the name's popularity among Muslims worldwide.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Habiba can be traced back to the medieval Islamic world. One notable figure was Habiba bint Amir al-Kindi, a renowned female scholar and poet from the 9th century CE, known for her contributions to Arabic literature and Islamic studies.
Throughout history, several prominent individuals have borne the name Habiba. One such figure was Habiba Msika (1805-1888), a Moroccan Jewish woman who played a significant role in the development of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, an organization dedicated to promoting education and human rights for Jews in the Middle East and North Africa.
Another notable Habiba was Habiba Messikh (1903-1985), an Algerian feminist and activist who fought for women's rights and independence in her country. She was a prominent figure in the Algerian nationalist movement and played a crucial role in advocating for women's education and empowerment.
In the realm of literature, Habiba Tanvir Naqvi (1937-2018) was a renowned Pakistani writer and poet. She was widely acclaimed for her contributions to Urdu literature and her efforts in promoting women's rights and social justice through her works.
Habiba Sarroub (born 1960) is a Yemeni-American scholar and educator who has made significant contributions to the field of literacy education. Her research focuses on the literacy practices of immigrant and minority communities, and she has written extensively on culturally responsive teaching methods.
Habiba Akiko Sarroub (born 1972) is a Japanese-American artist and sculptor. Her work often explores themes of identity, cultural hybridity, and the intersection of Eastern and Western artistic traditions. She has exhibited her sculptures and installations in various galleries and museums around the world.
People
Habiba + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Habiba 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
Habiba: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Habiba?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 754 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Habiba 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 454,581 US residents.
Is Habiba a common name?
We classify Habiba as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 764 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Habiba most popular?
The single biggest year for Habiba was 2014, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Habiba is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Habiba in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,190 people with the name Habiba, or 0.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,072 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 Habiba 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 Habiba?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Habiba appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,193 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Habiba?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Habiba is Black at 37.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (31.8%) and White (26.0%). 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 Habiba most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Habiba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.0% (811 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 Habiba in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Habiba a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Habiba 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 Habiba still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Habiba 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 Habiba 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 people have Habiba as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Habiba, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.