Marwah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "place to return" or "place of refuge".
Name Census estimates that about 332 living Americans carry the first name Marwah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Marwah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marwah births was 2013 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marwah. 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
332
~ 1 in 1,032,393 Americans
Peak year
2013
21 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,310
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Marwah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marwah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 148 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Marwah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marwah 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 Marwah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marwahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marwah
The name Marwah has its origins in Arabic, originating from the ancient Semitic languages of the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic root word "m-r-w," which is associated with concepts of passing, transition, and movement.
In Islamic tradition, Marwah refers to one of the two small hills in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, alongside Safa. The ritual of Sa'i, which involves walking between these two hills, is an essential part of the Islamic pilgrimage known as the Hajj. This connection to the sacred sites of Mecca has given the name Marwah a significant religious and cultural significance in the Islamic world.
The name Marwah can be found mentioned in various Islamic texts and historical records related to the Hajj rituals and the history of Mecca. One of the earliest known references to the name is in the Qur'an, where it is mentioned in the context of the ritual of Sa'i.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marwah. One of the earliest recorded examples is Marwah bint Auf, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and one of the first women to embrace Islam in the 7th century.
In the 9th century, Marwah al-Raqqa was a renowned Arabic poet and calligrapher from the city of Raqqa, in present-day Syria. Her works are considered part of the golden age of Arabic literature and art.
Marwah al-Saqqaf, born in the late 12th century, was a notable Islamic scholar and jurist from Yemen. She was highly respected for her knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and her contributions to the field.
In the 19th century, Marwah al-Mallah was a prominent Palestinian educator and feminist activist. She founded one of the first schools for girls in Jerusalem and worked tirelessly to promote women's education and empowerment.
Marwah Daud Ibrahim, born in 1936, is a renowned Pakistani artist and calligrapher. She is celebrated for her intricate and innovative calligraphic works, which have been exhibited globally and are part of major museum collections.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Marwah, which has deep roots in Arabic language and Islamic culture, with connections to sacred sites and traditions.
People
Marwah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marwah 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
Marwah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marwah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 332 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marwah 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 1,032,393 US residents.
Is Marwah a common name?
We classify Marwah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 337 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marwah most popular?
The single biggest year for Marwah was 2013, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marwah is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marwah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marwah 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.
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.