Muawiyah
A masculine Arabic name meaning "youth", "youngster", or "young man".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Muawiyah. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Muawiyah today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Muawiyah births was 2017 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Muawiyah. 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 Muawiyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Muawiyah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2017
6 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,694
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Muawiyah: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Muawiyah 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 Muawiyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Muawiyah
The given name Muawiyah has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, with roots tracing back to the early days of Islam in the 7th century AD. The name is derived from the Arabic word "Mawiya," which means "resting place" or "shelter." It is believed to have been derived from the Semitic root word "w-y," which is associated with concepts of protection and refuge.
The earliest recorded use of the name Muawiyah can be found in Islamic history, as it was borne by Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, a prominent figure who ruled the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 680 AD. He was instrumental in establishing the Umayyad dynasty and is considered one of the most influential leaders in early Islamic history.
Another notable historical figure with the name Muawiyah was Muawiyah ibn Yazid, also known as Muawiyah II, who briefly ruled the Umayyad Caliphate in 683-684 AD. His reign was short-lived, lasting only a few months, but his name is recorded in the annals of Islamic history.
In the realm of Islamic literature and scholarship, the name Muawiyah is associated with several prominent individuals. One such figure is Muawiyah ibn Malik al-Muzani, a renowned scholar and jurist who lived in the 8th century AD and made significant contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).
During the medieval period, the name Muawiyah also appeared in various literary works and historical accounts. One notable example is Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan al-Gharnati, a 12th-century Andalusian poet and scholar who hailed from Granada, Spain.
In more recent times, the name Muawiyah has continued to be used, particularly in the Arab world. One notable bearer of this name was Muawiyah Nur al-Din, a Syrian politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Syria from 1972 to 1976. He was born in 1914 and died in 1986.
Throughout its long history, the name Muawiyah has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including rulers, scholars, poets, and political figures. While its use may have fluctuated over time, it remains a significant name in the Arabic-speaking world, carrying with it a rich tapestry of cultural and historical significance.
People
Muawiyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Muawiyah 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
Muawiyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Muawiyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Muawiyah 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Muawiyah a common name?
We classify Muawiyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Muawiyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Muawiyah was 2017, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Muawiyah 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 Muawiyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Muawiyah a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Muawiyah 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 Muawiyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Muawiyah 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 Muawiyah 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 Muawiyah?
Want to know how many Americans are named Muawiyah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.