Ibn
An honorific borrowed into Arabic literally meaning "son of".
Name Census estimates that about 897 living Americans carry the first name Ibn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ibn today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ibn births was 1990 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ibn. 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
897
~ 1 in 382,112 Americans
Peak year
1990
34 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,555
Tracked since 1970
Census
Ibn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 628 people with the first name Ibn, which placed it at #17,522 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
#17,522
National first-name rank
People counted
628
628 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ibn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ibn is Black at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Ibn 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 Ibn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.1% · 566
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 24
- Two or more races3.0% · 19
- White1.8% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 8
Popularity
Ibn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ibn from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 216 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
Ibn 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 Ibn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ibns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New Jersey, New York, California recorded the most babies named Ibn, while Pennsylvania, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 113 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ibn
The given name Ibn is derived from the Arabic word ibn, meaning "son of." It originated in the Arabian Peninsula during the early centuries of Islam and has been widely used in the Arab world and among Muslim communities around the globe.
Ibn is not a standalone name but rather a prefix that is traditionally followed by the father's name. This practice has its roots in the Arab tribal culture, where lineage and ancestry played a crucial role in establishing one's identity and social standing.
The use of Ibn as a part of one's name can be traced back to the 7th century, when it was commonly employed by early Islamic scholars, rulers, and prominent figures. One of the earliest and most famous examples is Ibn Ishaq (704-767 CE), a renowned Islamic scholar and biographer of the Prophet Muhammad.
Throughout Islamic history, numerous influential individuals have borne names with the prefix Ibn. These include Ibn Sina (980-1037 CE), also known as Avicenna, a renowned philosopher, scientist, and physician whose works significantly influenced Western and Eastern thought. Another notable figure is Ibn Rushd (1126-1198 CE), a philosopher and polymath who made significant contributions to various fields, including law, medicine, and astronomy.
Ibn Battuta (1304-1369 CE), a Moroccan scholar and explorer, is celebrated for his extensive travels across Africa, Asia, and Europe, documented in his renowned travelogue, "The Rihla." His journey spanned over 30 years and covered over 75,000 miles, making him one of the greatest travelers in pre-modern history.
Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406 CE), an Arab historian and philosopher, is widely regarded as the father of modern sociology and historiography. His seminal work, "The Muqaddimah," explored the rise and fall of civilizations, social dynamics, and the impact of environmental factors on human societies.
Ibn al-Haytham (965-1040 CE), also known as Alhazen, was a pioneering scientist and mathematician who made significant contributions to the fields of optics, physics, and astronomy. His groundbreaking work on the nature of light and vision laid the foundations for modern optics.
The use of Ibn as a prefix in personal names has been a long-standing tradition in the Arab and Muslim world, reflecting the importance of familial ties and lineage in these cultures. While its usage has evolved over time, the name Ibn continues to hold historical and cultural significance, serving as a reminder of the rich heritage and contributions of Islamic scholars and intellectuals throughout the ages.
People
Ibn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ibn 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
Ibn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ibn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 897 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ibn 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 382,112 US residents.
Is Ibn a common name?
We classify Ibn 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, 927 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ibn most popular?
The single biggest year for Ibn was 1990, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ibn is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ibn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 628 people with the name Ibn, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,522 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 Ibn 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 Ibn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ibn appears almost entirely male. Of the 628 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Ibn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ibn is Black at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Ibn most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ibn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (566 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 Ibn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ibn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ibn 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 Ibn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ibn 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 Ibn 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 Americans are named Ibn?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Ibn at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.