Nasheed
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "chant" or "hymn".
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Nasheed. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nasheed today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nasheed births was 2001 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nasheed. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nasheed. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
2001
11 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2007 SSA rank
#11,913
Tracked since 1995
Census
Nasheed in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 129 people with the first name Nasheed, which placed it at #48,862 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
#48,862
National first-name rank
People counted
129
129 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nasheed
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nasheed is Black at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Nasheed 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 Nasheed at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.5% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.6% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 3
- White1.6% · 2
Popularity
Nasheed: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nasheed from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 30 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nasheed 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 Nasheed 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 Nasheed
The name Nasheed has its origins in the Arabic language and is derived from the word "nasheed," which means "hymn" or "chant." This name is deeply rooted in the Islamic tradition and culture.
In the early days of Islam, nasheeds were religious poems or songs that were recited or sung to convey spiritual messages and praise for Allah. These poetic compositions played a significant role in spreading the teachings of Islam and fostering a sense of community among believers.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Nasheed can be found in the works of renowned Arab poets and scholars from the 7th and 8th centuries CE. For instance, Al-Khansa, a revered female poet from the Najd region of the Arabian Peninsula, composed powerful nasheeds that celebrated the virtues of courage and steadfastness in the face of adversity.
Throughout history, the name Nasheed has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to the arts, literature, and religious studies. One notable figure is Nasheed bin Khair Allah (1002-1088 CE), a renowned Arab poet and scholar from Basra, Iraq, who was renowned for his mastery of Arabic poetry and his profound understanding of Islamic theology.
Another prominent individual bearing the name Nasheed was Nasheed al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274 CE), a Persian polymath who made groundbreaking contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. His works, including the influential treatise "Al-Tadhkirah fi 'ilm al-hay'ah" (Memoir on the Science of Astronomy), had a profound impact on the intellectual landscape of the medieval Islamic world.
In more recent times, the name Nasheed has been carried by individuals who have championed the art of religious chanting and poetry. One such figure is Nasheed Ahmad (1937-2017), a renowned Egyptian singer and composer who dedicated his life to reviving and preserving the traditional Sufi vocal traditions of Egypt and the broader Islamic world.
Another notable individual is Nasheed Saleem (born 1959), a British Muslim singer and songwriter who has gained international recognition for his Islamic devotional music, known as "Nasheed Music." His compositions have inspired countless individuals and contributed to the promotion of Islamic values and spirituality through the medium of music.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Nasheed and left an indelible mark on the cultural, intellectual, and spiritual fabric of their respective societies.
People
Nasheed + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nasheed 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
Nasheed: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nasheed?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nasheed 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Nasheed a common name?
We classify Nasheed as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nasheed most popular?
The single biggest year for Nasheed was 2001, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nasheed 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 Nasheed in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 129 people with the name Nasheed, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,862 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 Nasheed 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 Nasheed?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nasheed leans strongly male. 118 people counted with this name were male (86.1%), compared with 19 female bearers (13.9%). 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 Nasheed?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nasheed is Black at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Nasheed most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nasheed in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (109 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 Nasheed in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nasheed a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nasheed 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 Nasheed still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nasheed 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 Nasheed 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 Nasheed?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.