Nazeer
An Arabic name meaning watchful, attentive, or discerning.
Name Census estimates that about 305 living Americans carry the first name Nazeer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nazeer today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nazeer births was 2017 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nazeer. 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 Nazeer with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
305
~ 1 in 1,123,785 Americans
Peak year
2017
21 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,121
Tracked since 1993
Census
Nazeer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 341 people with the first name Nazeer, which placed it at #27,024 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
#27,024
National first-name rank
People counted
341
341 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
43.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nazeer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nazeer is Black at 43.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.9%) and White (7.9%). 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 Nazeer 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 Nazeer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American43.1% · 147
- Asian and Pacific Islander34.9% · 119
- White7.9% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 22
- Two or more races6.2% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 5
Popularity
Nazeer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nazeer from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 114 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nazeer remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nazeer 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 Nazeer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nazeers live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nazeer
The name Nazeer is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "nazir," which means "observer" or "watcher." It is believed to have emerged during the early Islamic era, around the 7th century AD, when Arabic culture and language were spreading across the Middle East and North Africa.
In Islamic tradition, the name Nazeer is often associated with the concept of being a vigilant observer and guardian of one's faith and principles. It is mentioned in the Quran as one of the attributes of God, emphasizing his role as an ever-watchful overseer of creation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nazeer can be found in the works of renowned Islamic scholars and poets from the 8th and 9th centuries, such as Al-Jahiz and Al-Mutanabbi. These literary works provide insights into the cultural significance and usage of the name during that period.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nazeer. One of the earliest was Nazeer al-Deen al-Tusi (1201-1274), a renowned Persian polymath who made significant contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. His works on trigonometry and planetary movements were highly influential in the Islamic world.
Another prominent figure was Nazeer Akbarabadi (1735-1830), an Urdu poet from the Mughal Empire who is considered one of the pioneers of the Urdu literary tradition. His poetic works, known for their elegant and intricate language, have left a lasting impact on Urdu literature.
In the modern era, Nazeer Ahmed Navayath (1924-2007) was a prominent Indian politician and diplomat who served as the Governor of several states in India and played a crucial role in shaping the country's foreign policy during his tenure as a diplomat.
Additionally, Nazeer Ahmed Lodi (1933-2001) was a celebrated Pakistani writer and journalist known for his insightful literary works and contributions to the Urdu language and literature.
Lastly, Nazeer Hussain (1943-2008) was a renowned Pakistani classical singer and composer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest vocalists of the Khyal genre in South Asian classical music. His renditions of traditional compositions and his ability to improvise have left an indelible mark on the region's musical heritage.
People
Nazeer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nazeer 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
Nazeer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nazeer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 305 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nazeer 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 1,123,785 US residents.
Is Nazeer a common name?
We classify Nazeer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 308 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nazeer most popular?
The single biggest year for Nazeer was 2017, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nazeer is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nazeer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 341 people with the name Nazeer, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,024 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 Nazeer 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 Nazeer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nazeer leans strongly male. 332 people counted with this name were male (96.5%), compared with 12 female bearers (3.5%). 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 Nazeer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nazeer is Black at 43.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.9%) and White (7.9%). 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 Nazeer most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nazeer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.1% (147 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 Nazeer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nazeer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nazeer 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 Nazeer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nazeer 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 Nazeer 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 Nazeer?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Nazeer at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.