Nadeem
An Arabic name meaning "generous" or "gifted".
Name Census estimates that about 727 living Americans carry the first name Nadeem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nadeem today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nadeem births was 1995 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nadeem. 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 Nadeem with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
727
~ 1 in 471,464 Americans
Peak year
1995
23 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,362
Tracked since 1968
Census
Nadeem in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,996 people with the first name Nadeem, which placed it at #7,589 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
#7,589
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,996 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
70.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nadeem
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nadeem is Asian/Pacific Islander at 70.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.7%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Nadeem 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 Nadeem at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander70.1% · 1,400
- White19.7% · 393
- Two or more races4.8% · 95
- Black or African American4.3% · 85
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Popularity
Nadeem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nadeem from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 171 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Nadeem remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nadeem 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 Nadeem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nadeems live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Nadeem, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nadeem
The name Nadeem is of Arabic origin, derived from the root word "nadama," which means "to regret" or "to feel remorse." It is believed to have originated in the Middle East, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula, during the early Islamic era, around the 7th century CE.
The name Nadeem carries a sense of repentance and self-reflection, as it signifies someone who feels remorse or regret for their past actions and seeks to make amends. It is often associated with individuals who have undergone a spiritual or personal transformation.
While the name Nadeem is not directly referenced in religious scriptures or ancient texts, it has been used throughout the Islamic world for centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the writings of the renowned Persian poet and scholar, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273 CE).
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nadeem. One of the most famous was Nadeem Khan (1711-1782), a renowned Urdu poet and courtier in the Mughal Empire, who was renowned for his ghazals and contributions to Urdu literature. Another prominent figure was Nadeem Malik (1944-2021), a Pakistani cricketer who played for the national team in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the realm of politics, Nadeem Babar (born 1964) is a prominent Pakistani politician and former federal minister, while Nadeem Aslam (born 1966) is a British-Pakistani novelist and writer, known for works such as "Maps for Lost Lovers" and "The Blind Man's Garden."
Nadeem Elyas (born 1957) is a renowned Egyptian actor and comedian who has starred in numerous films and television shows, earning him widespread popularity across the Arab world.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Nadeem throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence and cultural significance across various regions and disciplines.
People
Nadeem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nadeem as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nadeem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nadeem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 727 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nadeem 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 471,464 US residents.
Is Nadeem a common name?
We classify Nadeem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 746 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nadeem most popular?
The single biggest year for Nadeem was 1995, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nadeem is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nadeem in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,996 people with the name Nadeem, or 0.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,589 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 Nadeem 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 Nadeem?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nadeem leans strongly male. 1,970 people counted with this name were male (98.8%), compared with 24 female bearers (1.2%). 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 Nadeem?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nadeem is Asian/Pacific Islander at 70.1%. The next largest groups are White (19.7%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Nadeem most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nadeem in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.1% (1,400 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 Nadeem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nadeem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nadeem 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 Nadeem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nadeem 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 Nadeem 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 called Nadeem?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.