Reshad
A masculine Arabic name meaning "the right path" or "guidance".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Reshad. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Reshad today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reshad births was 1989 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reshad. 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
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
1989
12 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2016 SSA rank
#11,833
Tracked since 1980
Census
Reshad in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 243 people with the first name Reshad, which placed it at #33,857 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
#33,857
National first-name rank
People counted
243
243 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
62.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reshad
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reshad is Black at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (19.3%) and Two or More Races (10.3%). 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 Reshad 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 Reshad at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American62.1% · 151
- Asian and Pacific Islander19.3% · 47
- Two or more races10.3% · 25
- White6.2% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 5
Popularity
Reshad: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reshad from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 66 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
Reshad 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 Reshad 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 Reshad
The name Reshad is derived from the Persian language and has its origins in ancient Persia, now known as Iran. It is believed to have emerged sometime around the 7th century AD, during the Islamic golden age and the expansion of the Persian Empire.
Reshad is formed from the Persian root word "rash," which means "straight" or "upright," and the suffix "-ad," which is a common Persian name ending. The name can be interpreted to mean "the upright one" or "the righteous one." It was likely given to individuals who were perceived as embodying these virtuous qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Reshad can be found in the famous Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century. In the epic, there is a character named Reshad, who is described as a wise and noble warrior.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Reshad. One of the earliest was Reshad al-Din Fazlollah (1247-1318), a renowned Persian philosopher, scholar, and physician who served as the vizier (prime minister) of the Ilkhanid Dynasty in Persia.
Another prominent figure was Reshad Pasha (1805-1858), an Ottoman statesman and diplomat who served as the Grand Vizier (prime minister) of the Ottoman Empire from 1857 to 1858.
In the realm of literature, Reshad Nuri Guntekin (1889-1956) was a celebrated Turkish novelist and playwright who is considered one of the pioneers of modern Turkish literature.
In the field of science, Reshad Feild (1932-2021) was a British physicist and author who made significant contributions to the understanding of electromagnetism and the nature of consciousness.
Lastly, Reshad Strik (born 1973) is a British politician and member of the European Parliament, representing the Green Party of England and Wales.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Reshad, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and the diverse backgrounds of those who have borne it.
People
Reshad + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reshad 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
Reshad: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reshad?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reshad 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Reshad a common name?
We classify Reshad as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 166 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reshad most popular?
The single biggest year for Reshad was 1989, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reshad is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reshad in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 243 people with the name Reshad, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,857 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 Reshad 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 Reshad?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reshad appears almost entirely male. Of the 247 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Reshad?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reshad is Black at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (19.3%) and Two or More Races (10.3%). 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 Reshad most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Reshad in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.1% (151 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 Reshad in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reshad a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Reshad 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 Reshad still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reshad 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 Reshad 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 named Reshad?
Find out how many people share the name Reshad on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.