Hani
A feminine Arabic name meaning "happier" or "delighting in joy".
Name Census estimates that about 901 living Americans carry the first name Hani. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 78.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Hani today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hani births was 2024 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hani. 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 Hani with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
901
~ 1 in 380,415 Americans
Peak year
2024
55 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,223
Tracked since 1972
Census
Hani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,054 people with the first name Hani, which placed it at #5,561 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
#5,561
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,054 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hani is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.0%). 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 Hani 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 Hani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.5% · 2,214
- Black or African American14.7% · 448
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.0% · 214
- Two or more races4.3% · 130
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Hani
Hani is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 919 total registrations, 720 (78.3%) were male and 199 (21.7%) were female.
Hani as a male name
- Ranked #4,223 in 2024
- 25 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (25 births)
Hani as a female name
- Ranked #4,584 in 2024
- 30 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (30 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hani on both sides of the split. Of the 3,054 people counted with this name, 2,402 were male (78.7%) and 652 were female (21.3%).
Popularity
Hani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hani from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 232 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hani remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hani 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 Hani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Michigan, New York recorded the most babies named Hani, while Minnesota, New York, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hani
The name Hani has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing back to the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic root word "hana," which means "joy" or "happiness." This name has been used by various ethnic groups across the Middle East and North Africa, reflecting its deep-rooted cultural significance.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Hani can be found in the works of renowned Arab poets and scholars from the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. The name appears in several classical Arabic texts, including anthologies of poetry and biographical accounts of influential figures from that time period.
The first recorded example of the name Hani dates back to the 8th century AD, when Hani ibn Urwah (708-781 AD), a prominent Islamic scholar and historian from Medina, lived. He was renowned for his extensive knowledge of genealogy, Islamic traditions, and Arabic literature.
Throughout history, numerous individuals have borne the name Hani, leaving their mark in various fields. One notable figure was Hani al-Nukhayli (1944-1976), a Palestinian poet and activist who played a significant role in the Palestinian resistance movement against Israeli occupation. His poems, which expressed the struggles and aspirations of his people, gained widespread recognition and continue to inspire generations.
Another famous bearer of the name was Hani Shukrallah (1950-2003), an Egyptian journalist and political commentator known for his insightful analysis and critical perspectives on Middle Eastern affairs. His writings and television appearances made him a respected voice in the region and beyond.
In the realm of sports, Hani Mukhtar (born 1944) is a renowned Egyptian former footballer who represented his country in two World Cup tournaments (1966 and 1970). His exceptional skills as a striker earned him recognition as one of the greatest players in Egyptian football history.
Hani Salama (1942-2022) was a prominent Egyptian actor and comedian who entertained audiences for over six decades. His versatile performances in numerous films and television shows cemented his status as a cultural icon in the Arab world.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Hani throughout history, each leaving an indelible mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage associated with this name.
People
Hani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hani 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
Hani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 901 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hani 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 380,415 US residents.
Is Hani a common name?
We classify Hani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 919 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hani most popular?
The single biggest year for Hani was 2024, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hani is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,054 people with the name Hani, or 1.01 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,561 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 Hani 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 Hani?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hani on both sides of the split. Of the 3,054 people counted with this name, 2,402 were male (78.7%) and 652 were female (21.3%). 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 Hani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hani is White at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.0%). 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 Hani most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (2,214 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 Hani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hani a male name?
Yes, 78.3% of people registered as Hani 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.
Is Hani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hani 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 Hani 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 Hani?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.