Hamsa
The Arabic name representing a hand-shaped amulet, a symbol of protection.
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the first name Hamsa. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hamsa today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hamsa births was 2005 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hamsa. 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
167
~ 1 in 2,052,421 Americans
Peak year
2005
16 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2018 SSA rank
#11,273
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Hamsa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hamsa 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 100 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Hamsa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hamsa 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 Hamsa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hamsas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hamsa
The name Hamsa has its origins in Arabic, derived from the word "khams" meaning five. In Arabic culture, the hamsa represents the five fingers of the hand, symbolizing protection from evil and misfortune. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 7th century AD during the rise of Islam in the Middle East.
Hamsa was initially a symbolic term rather than a personal name. It was associated with the "Hand of Fatima," a revered symbol in Islamic tradition representing the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. The hamsa hand is a popular talisman, often depicted as an open palm with an eye in the center, believed to ward off the "evil eye" and bring luck.
The name Hamsa gained popularity as a personal name in the Arab world, particularly in countries like Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria. One of the earliest notable figures with this name was Hamsa ibn Amr al-Qurashi, a 7th-century Arab general and companion of Prophet Muhammad.
In the 12th century, the name appears in historical records associated with Hamsa al-Isfahani, a renowned Persian poet and scholar from Isfahan, Iran. His poetic works, including the famous "Qasida Hamriya," have been influential in the Persian literary tradition.
Another prominent figure with the name Hamsa was Hamsa ibn Ali al-Kindi, an Arab mathematician and scientist who lived in the 9th century. He made significant contributions to the fields of optics, mathematics, and astronomy, and his works were widely studied in the Islamic Golden Age.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the name Hamsa was Hamsa Boubeker, a renowned Algerian singer and actress born in 1935. She was a prominent figure in Algerian and French cinema, known for her powerful voice and performances in films such as "The Battle of Algiers" and "Parisienne."
Another notable Hamsa was Hamsa Ammari, an Algerian writer and activist born in 1949. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and played a crucial role in the Algerian feminist movement, publishing several influential works on gender equality and social justice.
While the name Hamsa originated in Arabic culture, it has also been adopted in other regions with significant Muslim populations, such as South Asia and Southeast Asia. The name carries symbolic significance and represents the rich cultural heritage of the Arab world and Islam.
People
Hamsa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hamsa 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
Hamsa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hamsa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 167 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hamsa 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 2,052,421 US residents.
Is Hamsa a common name?
We classify Hamsa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 169 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hamsa most popular?
The single biggest year for Hamsa was 2005, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hamsa is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hamsa a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hamsa 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.
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.