Rizwan
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "the bestower of sustenance".
Name Census estimates that about 510 living Americans carry the first name Rizwan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rizwan today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rizwan births was 2022 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rizwan. 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 Rizwan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
510
~ 1 in 672,067 Americans
Peak year
2022
30 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,518
Tracked since 1974
Census
Rizwan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,585 people with the first name Rizwan, which placed it at #8,969 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
#8,969
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,585 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
92.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rizwan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rizwan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and White (2.6%). 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 Rizwan 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 Rizwan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander92.5% · 1,466
- Two or more races3.0% · 48
- White2.6% · 41
- Black or African American1.0% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 14
Popularity
Rizwan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rizwan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 134 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rizwan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rizwan 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 Rizwan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rizwans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rizwan
The name Rizwan originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in the Islamic culture. It is believed to have been derived from the Arabic word "rizwan," which means "contentment," "satisfaction," or "approval." The name is often associated with the concept of paradise or the heavenly gardens described in the Quran.
In Islamic tradition, Rizwan is the name of the guardian angel who guards the gates of paradise. The name is mentioned in several verses of the Quran, including Surah Al-Mu'minun (23:20) and Surah Ar-Ra'd (13:23), where it is described as the name of the keeper of paradise.
The earliest recorded use of the name Rizwan can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic golden age. It became a popular name among Muslims, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia, as a reflection of their religious beliefs and cultural heritage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rizwan. One of the earliest known figures was Rizwan bin Mughirah al-Khazraji (d. 640 CE), a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and a participant in the Battle of Badr. Another notable bearer of the name was Rizwan Mushtaq (1934-2022), a renowned Pakistani writer and playwright known for his contributions to Urdu literature.
In the field of sports, Rizwan Cheema (born 1983) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played for the national team in the early 2000s. Rizwan Memon (born 1986) is a Pakistani squash player who has won numerous international titles and represented his country in major tournaments.
The name Rizwan has also been associated with figures in the arts and entertainment industry. Rizwan Muazzam Qawwali (1941-2020) was a prominent Pakistani Qawwali singer and a recipient of the Pride of Performance award, Pakistan's highest civilian honor in the field of arts.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Rizwan throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence and cultural significance in various parts of the world, particularly in regions with a strong Islamic influence.
People
Rizwan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rizwan 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
Rizwan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rizwan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 510 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rizwan 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 672,067 US residents.
Is Rizwan a common name?
We classify Rizwan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 521 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rizwan most popular?
The single biggest year for Rizwan was 2022, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rizwan is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rizwan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,585 people with the name Rizwan, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,969 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 Rizwan 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 Rizwan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rizwan leans strongly male. 1,569 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 18 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Rizwan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rizwan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and White (2.6%). 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 Rizwan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Rizwan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (1,466 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 Rizwan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rizwan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rizwan 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 Rizwan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rizwan 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 Rizwan 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 Americans are named Rizwan?
See how many Americans are named Rizwan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.