Rubina
A feminine name of Persian origin meaning "ruby" or "reddish gem".
Name Census estimates that about 553 living Americans carry the first name Rubina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rubina today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rubina births was 1983 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rubina. 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 Rubina with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
553
~ 1 in 619,809 Americans
Peak year
1983
17 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,894
Tracked since 1910
Census
Rubina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,603 people with the first name Rubina, which placed it at #6,217 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
#6,217
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,603 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
73.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rubina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rubina is Asian/Pacific Islander at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) and Hispanic (7.6%). 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 Rubina 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 Rubina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander73.8% · 1,920
- White13.5% · 352
- Hispanic or Latino7.6% · 199
- Black or African American2.9% · 76
- Two or more races1.9% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Popularity
Rubina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rubina from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 112 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Rubina remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rubina 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 Rubina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rubinas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Rubina, while New York, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rubina
The name Rubina is thought to have originated from the Persian language, deriving from the word "rubin," which means "ruby" in Persian. The ruby is a precious gemstone known for its deep red hue, and the name Rubina was likely given to girls with a rosy complexion or reddish tints in their hair or skin tone.
The earliest known usage of the name Rubina can be traced back to the Middle Ages, particularly in regions that were part of the Persian cultural sphere, such as modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia. It was a popular name among Persian nobility and aristocracy, as the ruby was associated with wealth, beauty, and prestige.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rubina appears in the 12th-century Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi. In this literary masterpiece, Rubina is mentioned as the name of a beautiful princess.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Rubina. One of the earliest was Rubina Begum (1616-1679), a Mughal princess and the daughter of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. She was known for her intelligence, literary talents, and her patronage of the arts.
Another famous Rubina was Rubina Qizilbash (1822-1892), an Azerbaijani poet and writer who played a significant role in the literary and cultural renaissance of her time. Her poetry often explored themes of love, nature, and the struggle for independence.
In the 20th century, Rubina Kempadoo (1903-1988) was a prominent Guyanese writer and activist who fought for women's rights and social justice. Her works shed light on the experiences of Indo-Caribbean women and their struggles against discrimination.
Rubina Naveed (born 1959) is a contemporary Pakistani novelist and short story writer who has received numerous awards for her literary contributions, including the prestigious Sitara-e-Imtiaz, one of Pakistan's highest civilian honors.
Rubina Ali (born 2009) is an Indian actress who gained international recognition for her role as a young Latika in the critically acclaimed film "Slumdog Millionaire" when she was just nine years old.
While the name Rubina has roots in Persian culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in South Asia, the Middle East, and among certain communities in Europe and North America.
People
Rubina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rubina 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
Rubina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rubina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 553 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rubina 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 619,809 US residents.
Is Rubina a common name?
We classify Rubina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 632 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rubina most popular?
The single biggest year for Rubina was 1983, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rubina is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rubina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,603 people with the name Rubina, or 0.86 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,217 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 Rubina 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 Rubina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rubina appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,605 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Rubina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rubina is Asian/Pacific Islander at 73.8%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) and Hispanic (7.6%). 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 Rubina most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Rubina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (1,920 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 Rubina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rubina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rubina in the SSA data are female. 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 Rubina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rubina 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 Rubina 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 share the name Rubina?
Want to know how many people share the name Rubina? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.