Maahir
A masculine Arabic name meaning skilled, proficient, or adept.
Name Census estimates that about 238 living Americans carry the first name Maahir. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maahir today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maahir births was 2023 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maahir. 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 Maahir with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
238
~ 1 in 1,440,144 Americans
Peak year
2023
25 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,263
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Maahir: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maahir from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 116 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
Maahir 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 Maahir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maahirs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Maahir
The name Maahir is an Arabic name derived from the root word "mihrah," which means "skilled" or "proficient." It is a masculine name that has been in use for centuries in the Middle East and parts of North Africa.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Maahir can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic conquest of the Middle East. It is believed that the name may have been inspired by the Islamic concept of "ihsan," which emphasizes the importance of striving for excellence in one's actions and deeds.
In Islamic literature, the name Maahir is mentioned in several texts, including the hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) and the works of renowned Islamic scholars. Some scholars have suggested that the name may have been inspired by the Quranic verse that encourages believers to "strive for excellence in all that they do."
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Maahir. One of the earliest recorded examples is Maahir al-Basri (c. 642-728 CE), a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from Basra, Iraq. He was known for his expertise in Quranic exegesis and Islamic jurisprudence.
Another famous bearer of the name was Maahir al-Dinawari (c. 828-896 CE), a Persian historian and botanist who lived during the Abbasid Caliphate. His work, "Kitab al-Nabat" (Book of Plants), is considered one of the earliest works on botany in the Islamic world.
In the 12th century, Maahir al-Sufi (c. 1160-1233 CE) was a prominent Sufi mystic and poet from Persia. His poetry and spiritual teachings were widely celebrated and influenced the development of Sufism in the region.
During the Ottoman Empire, Maahir Mustafa Pasha (c. 1590-1637 CE) was a renowned Ottoman statesman and military commander who served as the Grand Vizier (prime minister) under Sultan Murad IV.
In more recent times, Maahir Abdul-Qaadir (1932-2008) was a renowned Algerian scholar and Islamic thinker who played a significant role in the Algerian independence movement and the promotion of Islamic thought and education.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Maahir, a name that has come to symbolize skill, excellence, and a commitment to personal and spiritual growth.
People
Maahir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maahir as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maahir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maahir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 238 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maahir 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 1,440,144 US residents.
Is Maahir a common name?
We classify Maahir as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 240 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maahir most popular?
The single biggest year for Maahir was 2023, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maahir is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Maahir in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maahir a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maahir 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 Maahir still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maahir 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 Maahir 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Maahir?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.