Haneefah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "truth seeker" or "following the true path".
Name Census estimates that about 154 living Americans carry the first name Haneefah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Haneefah today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Haneefah births was 1978 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Haneefah. 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 Haneefah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
154
~ 1 in 2,225,678 Americans
Peak year
1978
24 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2004 SSA rank
#14,808
Tracked since 1976
Census
Haneefah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 194 people with the first name Haneefah, which placed it at #39,126 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
#39,126
National first-name rank
People counted
194
194 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haneefah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Haneefah is Black at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Haneefah 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 Haneefah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.6% · 168
- Two or more races5.7% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 10
- White1.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 2
Popularity
Haneefah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Haneefah from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 65 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Haneefah 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 Haneefah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Haneefahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Haneefah
The name Haneefah is of Arabic origin, derived from the root word "hanif," which means "true" or "upright." It is a name associated with the Islamic faith and carries significant cultural and religious significance.
The name Haneefah is believed to have been in use since the early days of Islam, around the 7th century CE. It is associated with the concept of monotheism and the rejection of idolatry. The term "hanif" is mentioned in the Quran, referring to those who followed the pure monotheistic faith of Prophet Abraham.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Haneefah was Haneefah ibn Qays, a renowned Islamic scholar who lived in the 7th century CE. He was a prominent jurist and founded the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, which is one of the four major Sunni schools of law.
Another notable figure with the name Haneefah was Haneefah bint al-Husayn, a granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad. She lived in the 7th century CE and was known for her piety and knowledge of Islamic teachings.
In the 9th century CE, Haneefah al-Nu'man was a renowned poet and writer from Baghdad. Her literary works, including poetry and prose, were highly regarded during her time and contributed to the cultural and literary landscape of the Abbasid era.
During the 12th century CE, Haneefah al-Khayyat was a respected Islamic scholar and jurist from Khurasan, a historical region in present-day Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia. She was renowned for her expertise in Islamic law and her contributions to the field of jurisprudence.
In the 19th century, Haneefah Haider was a prominent educator and social reformer from India. She played a significant role in promoting education among women and advocating for their rights during the British colonial period.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Haneefah. The name has maintained its cultural and religious significance within the Islamic tradition, representing values of truthfulness, uprightness, and a strong connection to the monotheistic faith.
People
Haneefah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Haneefah 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
Haneefah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Haneefah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 154 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Haneefah 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 2,225,678 US residents.
Is Haneefah a common name?
We classify Haneefah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Haneefah most popular?
The single biggest year for Haneefah was 1978, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Haneefah is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Haneefah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 194 people with the name Haneefah, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,126 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 Haneefah 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 Haneefah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Haneefah appears almost entirely female. Of the 186 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Haneefah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Haneefah is Black at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). 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 Haneefah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Haneefah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (168 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 Haneefah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Haneefah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Haneefah 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 Haneefah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Haneefah 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 Haneefah 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 many people have the name Haneefah?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.