Hiba
A feminine Arabic name meaning "gift" or "present".
Name Census estimates that about 2,014 living Americans carry the first name Hiba. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hiba today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hiba births was 2023 (94 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hiba. 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 Hiba with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Hiba is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 170,186 Americans
Peak year
2023
94 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,308
Tracked since 1981
Census
Hiba in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,234 people with the first name Hiba, which placed it at #5,341 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
#5,341
National first-name rank
People counted
3.2K
3,234 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hiba
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hiba is White at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.2%) and Black (9.6%). 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 Hiba 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 Hiba at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.6% · 1,732
- Asian and Pacific Islander32.2% · 1,042
- Black or African American9.6% · 309
- Two or more races4.0% · 130
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Hiba: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hiba from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 656 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hiba remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hiba 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 Hiba during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hibas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Hiba, while North Carolina, Maryland, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 70 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hiba
The name Hiba originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in the Semitic linguistic family. It is believed to have emerged during the early Islamic period in the Middle East and North Africa regions.
Hiba finds its origins in the Arabic word "hibah," which translates to "gift" or "present." This connection suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon children as a symbolic gesture, representing them as a gift or blessing from the divine.
In Islamic tradition, the name Hiba holds significance as it appears in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. It is mentioned in reference to the concept of giving or offering, further solidifying its association with the notion of a gift.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hiba can be traced back to the 7th century CE, when a prominent female companion of the Prophet Muhammad, known as Hiba bint Abi Balta, lived during the early days of Islam.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Hiba. Hiba al-Lughawi (1019-1109 CE) was a renowned Arabic philologist and lexicographer from Andalusia, known for her contributions to the study of the Arabic language and literature.
Hiba Tawaji (1934-1982) was a celebrated Lebanese singer and actress, renowned for her powerful vocals and captivating performances in the mid-20th century.
Hiba Abouk (born 1976) is a contemporary French-Tunisian actress and model, who has graced both the big screen and fashion runways with her talent and beauty.
Hiba Jamal (born 1988) is a Palestinian-American writer and activist, known for her advocacy for human rights and her work in promoting awareness about the Palestinian cause.
Hiba Bukhari (born 1990) is a Pakistani fashion designer and entrepreneur, recognized for her innovative and culturally-inspired clothing designs that blend traditional and contemporary elements.
These examples demonstrate the enduring presence of the name Hiba across various cultures, time periods, and fields, reflecting its rich historical significance and the diverse individuals who have carried this name throughout the ages.
People
Hiba + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hiba 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
Hiba: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hiba?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,014 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hiba 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 170,186 US residents.
Is Hiba a common name?
We classify Hiba as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,044 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hiba most popular?
The single biggest year for Hiba was 2023, when 94 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hiba is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hiba in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,234 people with the name Hiba, or 1.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,341 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 Hiba 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 Hiba?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hiba appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,235 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Hiba?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hiba is White at 53.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.2%) and Black (9.6%). 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 Hiba most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hiba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.6% (1,732 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 Hiba in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hiba a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hiba 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 Hiba still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hiba 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 Hiba 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 are called Hiba?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.