Hebah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "gift" or "present".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Hebah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hebah today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hebah births was 1998 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hebah. 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
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
1998
14 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2012 SSA rank
#17,837
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Hebah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hebah from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 71 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hebah 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 Hebah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hebah
The name Hebah has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Arabic root word "hiba," which means "gift" or "present." This root is also found in other Arabic names such as Hiba and Habiba.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Hebah can be found in medieval Arabic poetry and literature, where it was often used as a symbolic representation of a precious gift or blessing. In particular, the 9th-century Arab poet Abu Tammam (805-845 CE) referred to a beloved woman named Hebah in one of his famous poems.
During the Islamic Golden Age, the name Hebah gained popularity among Muslim communities across the Middle East and North Africa. It was believed to bring good fortune and blessings upon the child who bore this name.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Hebah. One of the earliest recorded was Hebah bint Amir al-Mu'minin (died 668 CE), a granddaughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph of Islam. She was known for her piety and devotion to the teachings of Islam.
Another prominent figure with the name Hebah was Hebah al-Nabilsi (1360-1448 CE), a renowned Syrian scholar and Sufi mystic. She was known for her teachings on Islamic spirituality and her contributions to the field of hadith (prophetic traditions).
In more recent history, Hebah Qudsi (1888-1965) was a prominent Syrian feminist and activist who fought for women's rights and education in the early 20th century. She founded the first women's literary society in Damascus and played a significant role in the Arab feminist movement.
Hebah Arafa (born 1983) is a contemporary Egyptian actress and television presenter. She has starred in numerous successful television series and films, and is widely recognized as one of the most popular and influential actresses in the Arab world.
Hebah Patel (born 1991) is an American civil rights activist and lawyer. She has been actively involved in advocating for the rights of minority communities, particularly Muslim Americans, and has worked with various civil rights organizations.
People
Hebah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hebah 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
Hebah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hebah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hebah 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Hebah a common name?
We classify Hebah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 167 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hebah most popular?
The single biggest year for Hebah was 1998, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hebah is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hebah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hebah 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.