Requan
An Arabic name meaning "musical" or "one who sings beautifully".
Name Census estimates that about 73 living Americans carry the first name Requan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Requan today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Requan births was 1996 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Requan. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Requan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
73
~ 1 in 4,695,265 Americans
Peak year
1996
17 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2015 SSA rank
#13,601
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Requan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Requan from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 56 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Requan 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 Requan 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 Requan
The name Requan has its origins in the ancient Semitic languages spoken in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic root word "raqan," which means "to inscribe" or "to write." This suggests that the name may have been associated with scribes, writers, or those involved in record-keeping.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Requan can be found in the medieval Islamic texts, where it appears as a personal name used by scholars and poets. It is believed that during the Islamic Golden Age, between the 8th and 13th centuries, the name gained popularity among the intellectual and literary circles of the time.
In the 10th century, a renowned Persian poet and philosopher named Requan al-Isfahani was known for his works on ethics and moral philosophy. He lived from 923 to 1025 and is considered one of the most influential thinkers of his era.
Another notable figure with the name Requan was a 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet from Persia. Requan al-Din Jami, born in 1414, was a prominent figure in the Naqshbandi Sufi order and is celebrated for his literary works, including the famous poem "Salaman and Absal."
In the 15th century, there was a Moroccan scholar and traveler named Requan ibn Battuta, who wrote extensively about his journeys across Africa, Asia, and Europe. His travel accounts, known as the "Rihla" or "Travelogue," provide invaluable insights into the cultures and societies of the medieval Islamic world.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Requan was also used by notable figures, such as Requan Pasha, a 16th-century Ottoman statesman and military commander. He played a significant role in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire and was renowned for his strategic military campaigns.
While the name Requan has its roots in the Middle East and the Islamic world, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions over the centuries. However, its earliest and most prominent associations remain linked to the rich literary, scholarly, and cultural traditions of the medieval Islamic era.
People
Requan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Requan 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
Requan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Requan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 73 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Requan 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 4,695,265 US residents.
Is Requan a common name?
We classify Requan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 74 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Requan most popular?
The single biggest year for Requan was 1996, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Requan is about 27 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 Requan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Requan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Requan 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 Requan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Requan 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 Requan 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 Americans are named Requan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.