Rahmaan
A masculine Arabic name meaning "The Most Compassionate".
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Rahmaan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rahmaan today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rahmaan births was 1979 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rahmaan. 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 Rahmaan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rahmaan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
1979
8 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2005 SSA rank
#12,905
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Rahmaan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rahmaan from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 26 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rahmaan 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 Rahmaan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rahmaan
The name Rahmaan is derived from the Arabic word "rahman", which means "merciful" or "compassionate". It is a name with deep religious and cultural roots in the Islamic tradition, originating in the Middle East during the 7th century AD.
The name Rahmaan is closely associated with the concept of divine mercy and compassion in Islam. It is one of the attributes of God mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The word "rahman" appears numerous times in the Quran, often in reference to God's boundless mercy and benevolence towards all of creation.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Rahmaan can be found in the Quran itself, where it is used as one of the names or attributes of God. For instance, in the opening chapter of the Quran, known as Al-Fatihah, it states: "In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful" (Quran 1:1).
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Rahmaan, including poets, scholars, and religious leaders. One of the most famous was Rahmaan al-Banna (1756-1834), an Egyptian poet and scholar who wrote extensively on Islamic jurisprudence and literature. Another notable figure was Rahmaan Al-Jaziri (1876-1941), a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from Syria.
In South Asia, the name Rahmaan has been popular among Muslims for centuries. One of the earliest recorded examples is Abdul Rahmaan Chishti (1165-1240), a revered Sufi saint and the founder of the Chishtiya order of Sufism in the Indian subcontinent. Another notable figure was Rahmaan Baba (1653-1711), a Pashtun Sufi poet and scholar from modern-day Pakistan, whose writings and teachings greatly influenced the region's literature and culture.
In more recent times, the name Rahmaan has been associated with several influential figures, such as Rahmaan Khan (1905-1980), a pioneering Indian musician and composer who made significant contributions to the classical music tradition of Hindustani music. Another notable figure was Rahmaan Rahi (1923-2021), a renowned Pakistani writer and poet who is considered one of the most influential figures in modern Urdu literature.
People
Rahmaan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rahmaan 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
Rahmaan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rahmaan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rahmaan 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 8,359,862 US residents.
Is Rahmaan a common name?
We classify Rahmaan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 43 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rahmaan most popular?
The single biggest year for Rahmaan was 1979, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rahmaan is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Rahmaan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rahmaan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rahmaan 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 Rahmaan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rahmaan 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 Rahmaan 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Rahmaan?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.