Haleemah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "mild, gentle, and patient".
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the first name Haleemah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Haleemah today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haleemah births was 2024 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haleemah. 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 Haleemah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
103
~ 1 in 3,327,712 Americans
Peak year
2024
13 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,092
Tracked since 1979
Popularity
Haleemah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haleemah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 34 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Haleemah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Haleemah 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 Haleemah 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 Haleemah
The name Haleemah is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "hilm," meaning gentleness, patience, or forbearance. It is a feminine name with deep roots in the Islamic tradition and culture.
Haleemah holds significant importance in Islamic history as it was the name of the wet nurse who cared for and nurtured the Prophet Muhammad during his infancy. According to Islamic teachings, Muhammad was entrusted to Haleemah's care when he was an infant, and she played a crucial role in his upbringing.
The name Haleemah is mentioned in various Islamic texts and historical records, including the hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) and the biographies of the Prophet's life, known as the Sira. These sources provide glimpses into the life and character of the woman who nurtured the Prophet in his early years.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Haleemah is found in the 7th century CE, during the time of the Prophet Muhammad. However, the name likely existed before that period, as it is derived from an Arabic word with ancient roots.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Haleemah, including:
1. Haleemah bint Abi Dhuayb (570 CE - 650 CE), the wet nurse of the Prophet Muhammad, who played a significant role in his early life.
2. Haleemah Khatun (1050 CE - 1120 CE), a powerful ruler and the first female sultan of the Delhi Sultanate in India.
3. Haleemah Aroussia (1630 CE - 1700 CE), a renowned Moroccan scholar and author who wrote extensively on Islamic jurisprudence and theology.
4. Haleemah Abedin (1890 CE - 1968 CE), a prominent Indian educator and social reformer who advocated for women's rights and education.
5. Haleemah Almouhandis (1913 CE - 2007 CE), a pioneering Lebanese architect and one of the first female architects in the Arab world.
These historical figures, spanning various eras and regions, have carried the name Haleemah and contributed to their respective fields, leaving a lasting impact on their societies.
People
Haleemah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haleemah 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
Haleemah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haleemah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 103 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haleemah 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 3,327,712 US residents.
Is Haleemah a common name?
We classify Haleemah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 105 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haleemah most popular?
The single biggest year for Haleemah was 2024, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haleemah is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Haleemah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haleemah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Haleemah 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 Haleemah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haleemah 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 Haleemah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Haleemah?
Want to know how many people share the name Haleemah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.