Maher
A masculine Arabic name meaning "shooter" or "skilled marksman".
Name Census estimates that about 1,084 living Americans carry the first name Maher. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Maher today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maher births was 2023 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maher. 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 Maher with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 316,194 Americans
Peak year
2023
41 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,933
Tracked since 1963
Census
Maher in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,016 people with the first name Maher, which placed it at #5,615 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
#5,615
National first-name rank
People counted
3.0K
3,016 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maher
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maher is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Maher 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 Maher at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 2,475
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.9% · 179
- Two or more races4.9% · 148
- Black or African American4.2% · 127
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Maher: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maher from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 314 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Maher remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maher 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 Maher during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mahers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, New York, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Maher, while Ohio, Michigan, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maher
The name Maher has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "mahr," which means "dowry" or "bridal gift." This name has been in use for centuries and has a rich history.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Maher dates back to the 7th century CE. It is mentioned in the Hadith, which is a collection of sayings and traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. In the Hadith, the name Maher is used to refer to a man who was known for his generosity and kindness.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Maher. One of the most famous was Maher al-Nuwayri, an Egyptian historian and writer who lived in the 13th century CE. He is best known for his encyclopedic work, "Nihayat al-Arab fi Funun al-Adab," which covered a wide range of topics including history, geography, and literature.
Another notable figure was Maher al-Ashtar, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and one of the most renowned military leaders of the early Islamic era. He played a crucial role in several battles and was known for his bravery and strategic skills.
In the 11th century CE, Maher al-Mawsili was a celebrated musician and composer from Baghdad. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of Arabic music and is considered one of the greatest musicians of his time.
The name Maher was also borne by Maher al-Shukayr, a Syrian poet and writer who lived in the 20th century. He was known for his powerful and evocative poetry, which explored themes of love, loss, and social justice.
Another notable individual with the name Maher was Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian who gained international attention in the early 2000s. He was wrongfully detained and deported to Syria, where he was tortured and held without charges for over a year. His case sparked widespread outrage and led to significant changes in Canada's anti-terrorism policies.
While these are just a few examples, the name Maher has been carried by many influential figures throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields such as literature, music, religion, and politics.
People
Maher + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maher 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
Maher: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maher?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,084 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maher 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 316,194 US residents.
Is Maher a common name?
We classify Maher as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,109 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maher most popular?
The single biggest year for Maher was 2023, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maher is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maher in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,016 people with the name Maher, or 1.00 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,615 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 Maher 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 Maher?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maher leans strongly male. 2,928 people counted with this name were male (97.3%), compared with 82 female bearers (2.7%). 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 Maher?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maher is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Maher most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (2,475 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 Maher in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maher a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maher 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 Maher still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maher 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 Maher 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 Maher?
See how many people have the name Maher on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.