Haidan
A feminine Arabic name meaning "the one who guides" or "guide".
Name Census estimates that about 66 living Americans carry the first name Haidan. It is a predominantly male name (91.0% of registrations). The average person named Haidan today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haidan births was 2006 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haidan. 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 Haidan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Haidan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
66
~ 1 in 5,193,248 Americans
Peak year
2006
13 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2010 SSA rank
#6,818
Tracked since 2004
Census
Haidan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 149 people with the first name Haidan, which placed it at #45,514 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
#45,514
National first-name rank
People counted
149
149 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haidan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Haidan is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.5%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Haidan 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 Haidan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.0% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.5% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 10
- Two or more races6.7% · 10
- Black or African American4.7% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Haidan
Haidan leans heavily male at 91.0% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Haidan as a male name
- Ranked #6,818 in 2010
- 12 male births in 2010
- Peak: 2006 (13 births)
Haidan as a female name
- Ranked #16,100 in 2008
- 6 female births in 2008
- Peak: 2008 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Haidan on both sides of the split. Of the 152 people counted with this name, 81 were male (53.3%) and 71 were female (46.7%).
Popularity
Haidan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haidan from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 55 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Haidan 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 Haidan 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 Haidan
The name Haidan is believed to have originated in the ancient Persian language, stemming from the word "haidah," which translates to "lion." The name's roots can be traced back to the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over ancient Persia from the 6th to 4th centuries BCE.
This name was particularly popular among the aristocracy and noble classes of Persia during that time period. It was often given to male children born into prominent families, symbolizing strength, courage, and leadership qualities associated with the mighty lion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Haidan can be found in the Zoroastrian religious texts, specifically the Avesta, which dates back to the 6th century BCE. The Avesta mentions a character named Haidan, who was a high-ranking priest and scholar revered for his wisdom and knowledge.
Throughout ancient Persian history, several notable figures bore the name Haidan. One such figure was Haidan the Brave, a renowned military commander who served under King Darius I in the 5th century BCE. He was celebrated for his bravery and tactical prowess in battles against the Greeks.
Another prominent individual with this name was Haidan the Poet, who lived during the Sassanid Empire in the 6th century CE. He was a highly acclaimed poet and philosopher, known for his influential works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the 9th century CE, Haidan the Astronomer made significant contributions to the field of astronomy. He was a scholar at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where he authored several treatises on celestial movements and calculations.
During the medieval period, the name Haidan also found its way into the Islamic world. One notable figure was Haidan al-Isfahani, a renowned jurist and scholar who lived in the 11th century CE. He was widely respected for his expertise in Islamic law and jurisprudence.
Throughout the centuries, the name Haidan has maintained a significant presence in various cultures and regions influenced by Persian heritage, including parts of Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent.
People
Haidan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haidan 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
Haidan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haidan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 66 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haidan 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 5,193,248 US residents.
Is Haidan a common name?
We classify Haidan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 67 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haidan most popular?
The single biggest year for Haidan was 2006, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haidan is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Haidan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 149 people with the name Haidan, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,514 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 Haidan 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 Haidan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Haidan on both sides of the split. Of the 152 people counted with this name, 81 were male (53.3%) and 71 were female (46.7%). 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 Haidan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Haidan is White at 53.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.5%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Haidan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Haidan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.0% (79 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 Haidan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haidan a male name?
Yes, 91.0% of people registered as Haidan 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.
Is Haidan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haidan 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 Haidan 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 Haidan?
See how many Americans are named Haidan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.