Imani
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "faith" or "belief".
Name Census estimates that about 28,126 living Americans carry the first name Imani. It is a predominantly female name (95.3% of registrations). The average person named Imani today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Imani births was 1998 (1,272 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Imani. 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 Imani with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Imani is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 1,353 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
28K
~ 1 in 12,186 Americans
Peak year
1998
1,272 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#526
Tracked since 1970
Census
Imani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 21,087 people with the first name Imani, which placed it at #1,548 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
#1,548
National first-name rank
People counted
21K
21,087 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
7.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Imani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Imani is Black at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.5%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). 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 Imani 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 Imani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.8% · 16,818
- Hispanic or Latino9.5% · 2,012
- Two or more races7.1% · 1,497
- White2.4% · 515
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 158
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 87
Gender
Gender distribution for Imani
Imani leans heavily female at 95.3% of total registrations, but 1,353 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Imani as a male name
- Ranked #2,838 in 2024
- 45 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (58 births)
Imani as a female name
- Ranked #526 in 2024
- 583 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (1,222 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Imani leans strongly female. 20,111 people counted with this name were female (95.4%), compared with 969 male bearers (4.6%).
Popularity
Imani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Imani from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 9,113 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Imani remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Imani 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 Imani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Imanis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Imani, while Hawaii, New Mexico, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 650 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Imani
Imani is a name of African origin, derived from the Swahili word "imaan" which means faith or belief. This name has its roots in the East African region, particularly in Kenya and Tanzania, where Swahili is widely spoken.
The name Imani gained popularity in the West during the late 20th century, coinciding with the rise of the African-American civil rights movement and the celebration of African cultural heritage. It became a popular choice for parents seeking to instill a sense of cultural pride and identity in their children.
While the name Imani does not have a direct historical reference in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its meaning of faith and belief resonates with various spiritual and philosophical traditions across cultures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Imani can be traced back to the late 19th century, with the birth of Imani Kazinja, a Tanzanian writer and poet born in 1872. Kazinja's works celebrated African traditions and oral storytelling.
Another notable figure with the name Imani was Imani Touré, a Malian singer and guitarist born in 1958. She was widely acclaimed for her contributions to the West African musical genre known as desert blues.
In the world of sports, Imani Bashir, an American track and field athlete born in 1982, gained recognition for her achievements in the hurdles events. She represented the United States in multiple international competitions, including the Olympic Games.
Imani Hakim, an American actress born in 1993, is known for her roles in television series such as "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Mythic Quest." She has been praised for her versatile performances and contributions to the entertainment industry.
Imani Tate, born in 1991, is an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. She founded the clothing line "Burnt Bakery" and has gained a following for her unique and sustainable fashion designs.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Imani, each making their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural diversity.
People
Imani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Imani 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
Imani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Imani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28,126 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Imani 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 12,186 US residents.
Is Imani a common name?
We classify Imani as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28,649 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Imani most popular?
The single biggest year for Imani was 1998, when 1,272 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Imani 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 Imani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 21,087 people with the name Imani, or 6.98 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,548 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 Imani 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 Imani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Imani leans strongly female. 20,111 people counted with this name were female (95.4%), compared with 969 male bearers (4.6%). 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 Imani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Imani is Black at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.5%) and Two or More Races (7.1%). 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 Imani most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Imani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (16,818 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 Imani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Imani a female name?
Yes, 95.3% of people registered as Imani 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 Imani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Imani 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 Imani 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 share the name Imani?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.