Murad
An Arabic name meaning "desired" or "cherished".
Name Census estimates that about 1,066 living Americans carry the first name Murad. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Murad today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Murad births was 2016 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Murad. 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 Murad with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 321,533 Americans
Peak year
2016
56 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,975
Tracked since 1971
Census
Murad in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,771 people with the first name Murad, which placed it at #8,229 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
#8,229
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,771 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Murad
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Murad is White at 59.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (19.9%) and Black (13.2%). 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 Murad 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 Murad at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.5% · 1,053
- Asian and Pacific Islander19.9% · 352
- Black or African American13.2% · 234
- Two or more races5.6% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Murad: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Murad from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 346 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Murad remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Murad 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 Murad during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Murads live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Murad, while Virginia, Texas, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Murad
Murad is a male given name derived from the Arabic word "murid," meaning "one who desires or aspires." Its origins can be traced back to the 7th century CE, when the Islamic faith spread across the Middle East and North Africa.
The name Murad gained popularity during the Ottoman Empire, particularly among the ruling elite and military class. One of the most notable historical figures bearing this name was Murad I, the Ottoman Sultan who reigned from 1362 to 1389. He played a crucial role in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into the Balkans and is credited with establishing the Janissary corps, an elite military force.
Another prominent figure with the name Murad was Murad II, the Ottoman Sultan who ruled from 1421 to 1451. During his reign, he consolidated the Ottoman Empire's power and engaged in successful military campaigns against the Hungarians and the Venetians.
The name Murad also appears in Persian literature and history. Murad Khani, a 17th-century Kurdish prince and poet, is renowned for his contributions to Kurdish literature and his promotion of Kurdish culture and language.
In India, the name Murad gained recognition through the Mughal Empire. Murad Baksh, the youngest son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, was a prominent figure in the 17th century. Although he briefly ascended to the throne, his reign was short-lived due to conflicts with his brother Aurangzeb.
Moving forward in history, Murad V was the 35th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning for a brief period in 1876. Despite his short reign, he is remembered for his attempts to implement constitutional reforms and modernize the Ottoman Empire.
These are just a few examples of notable figures throughout history who bore the name Murad. The name has maintained its popularity across various cultures and regions, carrying a sense of aspiration and desire for those who bear it.
People
Murad + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Murad 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
Murad: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Murad?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,066 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Murad 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 321,533 US residents.
Is Murad a common name?
We classify Murad as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,087 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Murad most popular?
The single biggest year for Murad was 2016, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Murad is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Murad in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,771 people with the name Murad, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,229 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 Murad 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 Murad?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Murad appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,768 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Murad?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Murad is White at 59.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (19.9%) and Black (13.2%). 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 Murad most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Murad in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.5% (1,053 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 Murad in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Murad a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Murad 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 Murad still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Murad 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 Murad 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 Murad?
See how many Americans are named Murad on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.