Payam
A masculine Persian name meaning "message" or "communication".
Name Census estimates that about 186 living Americans carry the first name Payam. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Payam today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Payam births was 1990 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Payam. 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 Payam with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
186
~ 1 in 1,842,765 Americans
Peak year
1990
19 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2001 SSA rank
#11,851
Tracked since 1977
Census
Payam in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 832 people with the first name Payam, which placed it at #14,214 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
#14,214
National first-name rank
People counted
832
832 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Payam
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Payam is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). 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 Payam 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 Payam at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 725
- Two or more races10.2% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 13
- Black or African American0.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Payam: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Payam from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Payam 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 Payam during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Payams live
Origin
Meaning and history of Payam
The name Payam originates from the Persian language and culture, with its roots dating back to ancient Persia. It is derived from the Persian word "payam," which means "message" or "tidings." The name is believed to have been in use for centuries, reflecting the importance of communication and the exchange of ideas in Persian society.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Payam can be found in the epic poem "Shahnameh" by the renowned Persian poet Ferdowsi, written in the late 10th century. The poem features various characters with names derived from Persian words, including Payam, suggesting its usage during that era.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Payam. One prominent example is Payam Nouri (1956-2020), an Iranian-American author and journalist known for his works on Iranian culture and politics. Another is Payam Akhavan (born 1967), an Iranian-Canadian lawyer and professor of international law, who has advocated for human rights and served as a UN prosecutor.
In the realm of literature, Payam Yousefi (born 1980) is an Iranian-American writer and poet whose works explore themes of identity, migration, and cultural intersections. In the field of music, Payam Sani (born 1976) is an Iranian-American composer and musician who has contributed to various film scores and collaborated with renowned artists.
Payam Ghorbani (born 1987) is an Iranian-American entrepreneur and technology executive, known for his work in the software and cybersecurity industries. He has been recognized for his contributions to advancing innovation and entrepreneurship in the tech sector.
While the name Payam has its roots in Persian culture, it has gained recognition globally, transcending geographical boundaries and being embraced by diverse communities. Its meaning and significance as a messenger or bearer of tidings have resonated with many, reflecting the universal desire for communication and the exchange of knowledge.
People
Payam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Payam as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Payam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Payam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 186 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Payam 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 1,842,765 US residents.
Is Payam a common name?
We classify Payam as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 193 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Payam most popular?
The single biggest year for Payam was 1990, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Payam is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Payam in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 832 people with the name Payam, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,214 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 Payam 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 Payam?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Payam leans strongly male. 809 people counted with this name were male (96.9%), compared with 26 female bearers (3.1%). 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 Payam?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Payam is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). 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 Payam most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Payam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (725 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 Payam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Payam a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Payam 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 Payam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Payam 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 Payam 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 Payam?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.