Halimah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "gentle, mild, or forbearing".
Name Census estimates that about 526 living Americans carry the first name Halimah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Halimah today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Halimah births was 2009 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Halimah. 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
526
~ 1 in 651,624 Americans
Peak year
2009
19 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,020
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Halimah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Halimah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 139 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Halimah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Halimah 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 Halimah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Halimahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Halimah, while Texas, New Jersey, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Halimah
The name Halimah has its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture. It is derived from the root word "halim," which means "gentle," "mild," or "forbearing." The name gained popularity in the 7th century during the rise of Islam.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Halimah is found in the Islamic scriptures, the Qur'an, and the Hadith. Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb was a woman from the Banu Sa'd tribe who nursed the Prophet Muhammad in his infancy. She is revered in Islamic tradition for her role in the early life of the Prophet.
In the 9th century, Halimah bint al-Mu'tazz was a renowned Arabic poet and musician. She was the daughter of the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tazz and is known for her contributions to the literary and cultural scene of the Abbasid era.
Another notable figure named Halimah was Halimah al-Saadiyah, a 15th-century Sufi mystic and scholar from Damascus. She was renowned for her knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and her teachings on Sufism.
In the 19th century, Halimah Yahya Binti Muhamad Amin was a prominent Malay writer and poet from Singapore. She is considered one of the pioneers of modern Malay literature and her works explored themes of love, nature, and spirituality.
Halimah Yacob, born in 1954, was the first female president of Singapore, serving from 2017 to 2022. She had a distinguished career in the public sector before becoming the country's eighth president, and her presidency was seen as a significant milestone for women's representation in leadership roles.
The name Halimah has maintained its popularity in the Arab and Muslim world, as well as among Muslim communities worldwide. It is a name that carries connotations of gentleness, patience, and virtue, reflecting the qualities associated with its historical and cultural significance.
People
Halimah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Halimah 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
Halimah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Halimah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 526 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Halimah 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 651,624 US residents.
Is Halimah a common name?
We classify Halimah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 539 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Halimah most popular?
The single biggest year for Halimah was 2009, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Halimah is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Halimah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Halimah 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.