Iam
A masculine name derived from the English phrase "I am".
Name Census estimates that about 457 living Americans carry the first name Iam. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Iam today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iam births was 2024 (93 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iam. 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
457
~ 1 in 750,009 Americans
Peak year
2024
93 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,764
Tracked since 1983
Census
Iam in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 465 people with the first name Iam, which placed it at #21,716 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
#21,716
National first-name rank
People counted
465
465 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
37.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Iam
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iam is White at 37.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (33.3%) and Black (16.6%). 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 Iam 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 Iam at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White37.0% · 172
- Hispanic or Latino33.3% · 155
- Black or African American16.6% · 77
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 36
- Two or more races4.3% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 5
Popularity
Iam: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iam from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 264 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Iam 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 Iam during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Iams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Iam, while Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Iam
The name Iam has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture, tracing back to the biblical era. It is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word "yam," which means "sea" or "ocean." This connection suggests that the name might have been associated with seafaring or maritime traditions in its early origins.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Iam can be found in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. The Talmud mentions a scholar named Iam ben Ahijah, who lived during the 2nd century CE. While details about his life are scarce, his inclusion in this revered text indicates the name's presence in Jewish communities of that time.
In the Middle Ages, the name Iam appeared in various European regions, likely due to the influence of Jewish diaspora communities. One notable figure was Iam de Villeneuve, a 13th-century French physician and scholar renowned for his contributions to the field of medicine. His works, such as the "Regimen Sanitatis," were widely studied and circulated during the medieval period.
Moving forward to the Renaissance era, the name Iam gained prominence in Italy. Iam Bertoldo, born in 1440, was a celebrated sculptor and medallist from Florence. He is remembered for his intricate medallion portraits of prominent figures, including members of the Medici family, who were influential patrons of the arts during that time.
In the 17th century, Iam Baptista van Helmont, a Flemish chemist and philosopher, made significant contributions to the study of gases and proposed the concept of "gas" as a distinct state of matter. His pioneering work laid the foundations for modern chemistry and earned him recognition as a prominent figure in the Scientific Revolution.
Another notable individual with the name Iam was Iam Forbes, a Scottish Episcopal bishop who lived from 1714 to 1770. He played a crucial role in preserving the Scottish Episcopal Church during a period of religious turmoil and is remembered for his efforts to promote unity and reconciliation within the church.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Iam, demonstrating its enduring presence across different cultures, time periods, and fields of endeavor. While the name may have originated from a specific linguistic root, its usage has transcended geographical and cultural boundaries, leaving an indelible mark on various aspects of human history.
People
Iam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iam as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Iam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 457 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iam 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 750,009 US residents.
Is Iam a common name?
We classify Iam as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 461 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Iam most popular?
The single biggest year for Iam was 2024, when 93 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iam is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Iam in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 465 people with the name Iam, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,716 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 Iam 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 Iam?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Iam leans strongly male. 407 people counted with this name were male (86.6%), compared with 63 female bearers (13.4%). 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 Iam?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iam is White at 37.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (33.3%) and Black (16.6%). 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 Iam most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Iam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.0% (172 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 Iam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Iam a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Iam 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 Iam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Iam 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 Iam 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 common is the name Iam?
See how many people have the name Iam on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.