Rahiem
An Arabic name meaning "compassionate" or "merciful".
Name Census estimates that about 634 living Americans carry the first name Rahiem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rahiem today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rahiem births was 1980 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rahiem. 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.
People living today
634
~ 1 in 540,622 Americans
Peak year
1980
30 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,629
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Rahiem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rahiem 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 145 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
Rahiem 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 Rahiem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rahiems live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rahiem
The name Rahiem is an Arabic name that originated in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word "raheem," which means "merciful" or "compassionate." The name is closely associated with one of the attributes of God in Islam, Al-Raheem, which translates to "The Most Merciful."
The earliest recorded use of the name Rahiem can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic Golden Age. It was a prevalent name among Muslim communities in the Arabian Peninsula and the surrounding regions. The name is also mentioned in various Islamic texts and historical records from that period.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Rahiem was Rahiem ibn Abd al-Rahman, a renowned scholar and poet who lived in the 8th century CE in present-day Iraq. He was celebrated for his contributions to Arabic literature and his insightful poetry.
Another notable figure with the name Rahiem was Rahiem al-Andalusi, a mathematician and astronomer from the 11th century CE who made significant contributions to the fields of trigonometry and spherical geometry. He was born in Cordoba, Spain, during the time of the Umayyad Caliphate.
In the 12th century, Rahiem al-Baghdadi was a prominent Islamic jurist and scholar who authored several influential works on Islamic jurisprudence and theology. He was a renowned figure in the Hanafi school of Islamic law and taught at various educational institutions in Baghdad.
During the 13th century, Rahiem al-Qazwini, a renowned geographer and historian, authored the renowned work "Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-'Ibad" (Monuments of the Lands and History of God's Bondsmen), which provided a comprehensive description of the regions and peoples of the Islamic world at that time.
In the 15th century, Rahiem al-Maghribi was a celebrated poet and calligrapher from Morocco. His works were widely appreciated for their eloquence and artistic merit, and he was renowned for his mastery of the Arabic language and calligraphic styles.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Rahiem. The name has a rich cultural and linguistic heritage, rooted in the Arabic tradition and Islamic teachings, and has been carried by scholars, poets, scientists, and other influential figures over the centuries.
People
Rahiem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rahiem 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
Rahiem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rahiem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 634 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rahiem 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 540,622 US residents.
Is Rahiem a common name?
We classify Rahiem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 652 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rahiem most popular?
The single biggest year for Rahiem was 1980, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rahiem is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rahiem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rahiem 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.
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.