Halimatou
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "gentle" or "sweet-natured".
Name Census estimates that about 77 living Americans carry the first name Halimatou. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Halimatou today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Halimatou births was 2024 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Halimatou. 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 Halimatou with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Halimatou. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
77
~ 1 in 4,451,355 Americans
Peak year
2024
11 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,119
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Halimatou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Halimatou from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 42 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Halimatou remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Halimatou 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 Halimatou during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Halimatous live
Origin
Meaning and history of Halimatou
The name Halimatou is of Arabic origin and is a variation of the name Halima, which means "gentle" or "mild." It is a feminine name that is primarily used in West and North African countries with significant Muslim populations.
Halimatou can be traced back to the 7th century, during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Islamic tradition, Halima was the name of the woman who nursed and cared for the young Muhammad after his birth. As such, the name holds significant cultural and religious significance in the Muslim world.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Halimatou can be found in medieval Arabic texts and historical records. One notable example is Halimatou Bint Abi Dhuayb, a 7th-century Arab poet renowned for her eloquence and literary contributions.
Throughout history, several prominent women have borne the name Halimatou. One of the most famous was Halimatou Bah (1926-2022), a Guinean educator and activist who played a crucial role in promoting women's rights and education in her country. Another notable figure was Halimatou Diallo (1933-2012), a Senegalese writer and storyteller who was instrumental in preserving and sharing the oral traditions of her people.
In the 14th century, Halimatou Diarra (1340-1412) was a renowned scholar and jurist from the Mali Empire. She was known for her expertise in Islamic law and her contributions to the intellectual and cultural life of the region.
More recently, Halimatou Ayivi (1934-2018) was a Togolese politician and women's rights advocate who served as the first female president of the National Assembly of Togo from 1991 to 1994.
Halimatou Bah (born 1979) is a Guinean author and activist who has written extensively on issues of gender equality, human rights, and social justice in West Africa.
While the name Halimatou has its roots in the Arab world, it has since spread and gained popularity across various regions and cultures, particularly in West and North Africa, where it continues to be a cherished and meaningful name for girls.
People
Halimatou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Halimatou 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
Halimatou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Halimatou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 77 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Halimatou 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 4,451,355 US residents.
Is Halimatou a common name?
We classify Halimatou as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 78 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Halimatou most popular?
The single biggest year for Halimatou was 2024, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Halimatou is about 11 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 Halimatou in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Halimatou a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Halimatou 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 Halimatou still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Halimatou 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 Halimatou 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 share the name Halimatou?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.