Nazirah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "intelligent", "observant", or "visionary".
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the first name Nazirah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nazirah today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nazirah births was 2013 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nazirah. 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 Nazirah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
138
~ 1 in 2,483,727 Americans
Peak year
2013
11 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2015 SSA rank
#18,362
Tracked since 1994
Census
Nazirah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 157 people with the first name Nazirah, which placed it at #44,257 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
#44,257
National first-name rank
People counted
157
157 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
69.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nazirah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nazirah is Black at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.6%) and White (8.3%). 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 Nazirah 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 Nazirah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.4% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino9.6% · 15
- White8.3% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.6% · 12
- Two or more races5.1% · 8
Popularity
Nazirah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nazirah from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 70 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Nazirah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nazirah 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 Nazirah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nazirahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nazirah
The name Nazirah has its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, with roots dating back to the 7th century. It is derived from the Arabic word "nazir," which means "watchful" or "vigilant." The name carries connotations of being observant, attentive, and mindful.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Nazirah can be found in Islamic literature and historical records from the medieval period. It was a name given to women who were known for their piety, wisdom, and devotion to their faith. In some instances, the name was also associated with women who held positions of authority or played influential roles in their communities.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Nazirah. One such figure was Nazirah bint Abi Sufyan (610-679 CE), a prominent woman in early Islamic history. She was the daughter of Abu Sufyan, a leader of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca, and later embraced Islam alongside her father. Nazirah was known for her intelligence, resilience, and unwavering faith.
Another notable Nazirah was Nazirah al-Andalusiyah (1028-1111 CE), a renowned female scholar and poet from the Andalusian region of Spain during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. She was highly regarded for her contributions to the fields of literature, theology, and jurisprudence.
In the 13th century, Nazirah bint al-Mudhaffar (1219-1286 CE) was a prominent figure in the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria. She was a skilled administrator and held influential positions within the Mamluk court, earning respect for her leadership and diplomatic abilities.
During the Ottoman Empire, Nazirah Sultan (1591-1662 CE) was a prominent figure as the wife of Sultan Murad IV. She played a significant role in the political and cultural life of the Ottoman court and was known for her patronage of the arts and architecture.
In more recent times, Nazirah Usang (1923-2015) was a renowned Malay writer and playwright from Malaysia. She was celebrated for her contributions to the development of Malay literature and her efforts in promoting the cultural heritage of her country.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Nazirah throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural and intellectual traditions across different regions and eras.
People
Nazirah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nazirah 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
Nazirah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nazirah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 138 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nazirah 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 2,483,727 US residents.
Is Nazirah a common name?
We classify Nazirah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 140 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nazirah most popular?
The single biggest year for Nazirah was 2013, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nazirah is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nazirah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 157 people with the name Nazirah, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,257 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 Nazirah 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 Nazirah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nazirah appears almost entirely female. Of the 157 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Nazirah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nazirah is Black at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.6%) and White (8.3%). 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 Nazirah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nazirah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.4% (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 Nazirah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nazirah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nazirah in the SSA data are female. 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 Nazirah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nazirah 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 Nazirah 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 Nazirah?
Find out how many Americans are named Nazirah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.