Kaseem
An Arabic masculine name meaning leader or commander.
Name Census estimates that about 860 living Americans carry the first name Kaseem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kaseem today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaseem births was 2000 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaseem. 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
860
~ 1 in 398,552 Americans
Peak year
2000
29 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,476
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Kaseem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaseem from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 228 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kaseem remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaseem 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 Kaseem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaseems live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Kaseem, while New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 131 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaseem
Kaseem is a masculine given name with Arabic origins, derived from the root word "Karam" which means generosity or nobility. This name first emerged in the Middle Eastern region during the medieval Islamic era, around the 7th century AD.
The name Kaseem has a strong connection to Islamic culture and tradition. It is believed to have been mentioned in some ancient Arabic texts and manuscripts, although specific references are difficult to trace due to the passage of time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kaseem can be found in the history of the Umayyad Caliphate, where a military commander named Kaseem ibn Abdur-Rahman was known for his bravery and leadership skills during the 8th century AD.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Kaseem. One prominent example is Kaseem al-Ghazzali, a renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher who lived between 1058 and 1111 AD. His works on Sufism and Islamic ethics had a profound impact on the intellectual discourse of his time.
Another historical figure with the name Kaseem was Kaseem al-Hariri, an Arab poet and scholar from the 12th century AD, celebrated for his mastery of the Arabic language and his literary contributions.
In the realm of Islamic spirituality, Kaseem al-Nuri (1456-1534) was a revered Sufi mystic and saint, known for his teachings on divine love and spiritual enlightenment.
During the Ottoman Empire, Kaseem Pasha (1779-1833) was a prominent military leader and statesman, serving as the Grand Vizier (prime minister) of the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who carried the name Kaseem, showcasing its rich cultural and religious significance across various eras and regions.
People
Kaseem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaseem as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kaseem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaseem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 860 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaseem 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 398,552 US residents.
Is Kaseem a common name?
We classify Kaseem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 885 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaseem most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaseem was 2000, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaseem is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kaseem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaseem 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.
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.