Mahrukh
A Persian feminine name meaning "moon-faced" or "beautiful like the moon".
Name Census estimates that about 81 living Americans carry the first name Mahrukh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mahrukh today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mahrukh births was 2004 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mahrukh. 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 Mahrukh with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mahrukh. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
81
~ 1 in 4,231,535 Americans
Peak year
2004
9 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2021 SSA rank
#16,772
Tracked since 1994
Census
Mahrukh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 325 people with the first name Mahrukh, which placed it at #27,889 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
#27,889
National first-name rank
People counted
325
325 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
92.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mahrukh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahrukh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.0%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Mahrukh 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 Mahrukh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander92.0% · 299
- White3.4% · 11
- Two or more races2.2% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 6
- Black or African American0.6% · 2
Popularity
Mahrukh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mahrukh from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 48 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mahrukh 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 Mahrukh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mahrukh
The name Mahrukh finds its origins in the Persian language, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Persian words "mah" meaning moon and "rukh" meaning face or cheek, essentially translating to "moon-faced" or "one with a glowing face like the moon."
This poetic name was prevalent in the regions of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia, where Persian culture and language held significant influence. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Persian literature and historical texts from the medieval period.
One of the earliest known references to the name Mahrukh comes from the 11th century Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, composed by the renowned poet Ferdowsi. In this literary masterpiece, Mahrukh is mentioned as the name of a beautiful princess, highlighting the name's association with beauty and radiance.
Throughout the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Mahrukh. One such figure was Mahrukh Begum (1515-1572), a Mughal princess and the daughter of the famous Mughal Emperor Babur. She played a significant role in the imperial court and was known for her patronage of arts and culture.
Another prominent Mahrukh was Mahrukh Zamani (1642-1705), a Persian poet and calligrapher who gained recognition for her literary works and artistic talents during the Safavid era in Iran.
In the 18th century, Mahrukh Sultan Begum (1711-1793) was a prominent figure in the Mughal court, renowned for her intellectual pursuits and her role as a patron of the arts and literature.
Moving to more recent times, Mahrukh Yusuf (1898-1963) was a renowned Indian actress and dancer who graced the stage in the early 20th century, known for her performances in classical Indian dance forms.
Mahrukh Agha (1915-1986) was a Pakistani writer and journalist who made significant contributions to Urdu literature and journalism, particularly through her work in promoting women's rights and education.
The name Mahrukh has a rich cultural heritage, evoking images of beauty, grace, and artistic expression. Its enduring presence throughout history serves as a testament to the timeless appeal of this poetic Persian name.
People
Mahrukh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mahrukh 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
Mahrukh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mahrukh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 81 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mahrukh 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 4,231,535 US residents.
Is Mahrukh a common name?
We classify Mahrukh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 82 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mahrukh most popular?
The single biggest year for Mahrukh was 2004, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mahrukh is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mahrukh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 325 people with the name Mahrukh, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,889 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 Mahrukh 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 Mahrukh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mahrukh appears almost entirely female. Of the 322 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Mahrukh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahrukh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.0%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Mahrukh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mahrukh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (299 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 Mahrukh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mahrukh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mahrukh 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 Mahrukh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mahrukh 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 Mahrukh 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 are named Mahrukh?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.