Raheim
Of Arabic origin meaning "merciful and compassionate".
Name Census estimates that about 851 living Americans carry the first name Raheim. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Raheim today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raheim births was 2003 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raheim. 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 Raheim with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
851
~ 1 in 402,767 Americans
Peak year
2003
49 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,965
Tracked since 1971
Census
Raheim in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 601 people with the first name Raheim, which placed it at #18,056 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
#18,056
National first-name rank
People counted
601
601 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raheim
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raheim is Black at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Raheim 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 Raheim at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.2% · 530
- Two or more races5.3% · 32
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 21
- White1.3% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Raheim: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raheim from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 290 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raheim 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 Raheim during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raheims live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, Louisiana, California recorded the most babies named Raheim, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Raheim
The name Raheim is believed to have originated in the Arabic language. It is a combination of two words, "ra" which means "to see or perceive" and "heim" which means "home or dwelling place". The literal translation of the name is "one who sees the home" or "one who perceives the dwelling place".
This name gained popularity in the Middle East during the medieval period, particularly among Islamic scholars and philosophers. It was often given to individuals who were known for their wisdom, insight, and ability to perceive the deeper meanings of life and the world around them.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Raheim can be found in the writings of the 9th century Persian philosopher and polymath, Al-Kindi (801-873 AD). He was often referred to as "Raheim al-Kindi" or "the perceiving one of Kindi" due to his profound understanding of various disciplines, including philosophy, mathematics, and medicine.
Another notable figure in history who bore the name Raheim was Raheim al-Ghazali (1058-1111 AD), a Persian philosopher, theologian, and mystic. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the history of Islamic philosophy and his works, such as "The Incoherence of the Philosophers" and "The Revival of the Religious Sciences", have had a lasting impact on both Islamic and Western thought.
In the 13th century, Raheim al-Din al-Sufi (1234-1291 AD) was a renowned Persian astronomer and writer. He is best known for his work "The Book of Fixed Stars", which contained detailed observations and descriptions of stars and celestial objects.
Moving forward in time, Raheim al-Baghdadi (1677-1738 AD) was an influential Iraqi scholar and poet. He was renowned for his mastery of Arabic literature and his poetry, which often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
Finally, in the 19th century, Raheim al-Hamdani (1810-1876 AD) was a prominent Iraqi historian and writer. He is best known for his work "The History of the Arabian Khalifate", which provided a detailed account of the early Islamic caliphates and their impact on the region.
While the name Raheim has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has since been adopted and used in various parts of the world, particularly among Muslim communities. However, its origins and the meaning behind it remain rooted in the rich history and traditions of the Middle East.
People
Raheim + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raheim as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Raheim: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raheim?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 851 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raheim 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 402,767 US residents.
Is Raheim a common name?
We classify Raheim as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 872 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raheim most popular?
The single biggest year for Raheim was 2003, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raheim is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raheim in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 601 people with the name Raheim, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,056 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 Raheim 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 Raheim?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raheim appears almost entirely male. Of the 601 people counted with this name, 99.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Raheim?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raheim is Black at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Raheim most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Raheim in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (530 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 Raheim in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raheim a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raheim 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 Raheim still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raheim 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 Raheim 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 Raheim?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.