Ruhan
An Arabic masculine name meaning "soul" or "spirit".
Name Census estimates that about 289 living Americans carry the first name Ruhan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ruhan today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ruhan births was 2019 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ruhan. 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 Ruhan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
289
~ 1 in 1,186,001 Americans
Peak year
2019
29 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,098
Tracked since 2005
Census
Ruhan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 298 people with the first name Ruhan, which placed it at #29,601 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
#29,601
National first-name rank
People counted
298
298 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
78.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ruhan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruhan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 78.2%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Ruhan 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 Ruhan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander78.2% · 233
- White10.1% · 30
- Two or more races4.7% · 14
- Black or African American3.0% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 4
Popularity
Ruhan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ruhan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 161 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ruhan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ruhan 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 Ruhan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ruhans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Ruhan, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ruhan
The name Ruhan is of Arabic origin, and its roots can be traced back to the 7th century CE, the era of the birth and spread of Islam. The name is derived from the Arabic word "Ruh," which means "spirit" or "soul." This name was likely given to newborns as a symbolic gesture, wishing them a life filled with spiritual and emotional depth.
While the name Ruhan does not appear explicitly in the Quran or other major Islamic texts, its etymology suggests a connection to the Islamic faith's emphasis on the spiritual and metaphysical aspects of existence. The name's significance lies in its connotation of the intangible and transcendent qualities that are revered in Islamic teachings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ruhan can be found in the writings of the 10th-century Persian scholar and poet, Ferdowsi. In his epic masterpiece, the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi mentions a character named Ruhan, though little is known about this individual's historical significance.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Ruhan. One such individual was Ruhan al-Din (1203-1283), a Sufi mystic and poet from present-day Iran. His works, which explored the spiritual dimensions of Islam, were influential in the spread of Sufism across the Middle East and Central Asia.
Another prominent figure was Ruhan Bey (1455-1511), a Ottoman statesman and military commander who played a crucial role in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II. His military campaigns and diplomatic efforts helped solidify Ottoman control over parts of Anatolia and the Balkans.
In the 16th century, Ruhan al-Baghdadi (1548-1610) was a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from Baghdad. His contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence, particularly his interpretations of the Hanafi school of thought, were widely studied and respected throughout the Islamic world.
Ruhan Veli (1723-1785), a prominent Ottoman poet and mystic, is also noteworthy. His poetic works, which often explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, were celebrated for their depth and emotional resonance.
Lastly, Ruhan Raees (1857-1935) was a prominent Indian Muslim writer, journalist, and social reformer from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He played a significant role in advocating for the rights and education of Muslim women in British India, and his writings helped shape the discourse on social and political issues of his time.
People
Ruhan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ruhan 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
Ruhan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ruhan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 289 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ruhan 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 1,186,001 US residents.
Is Ruhan a common name?
We classify Ruhan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 291 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ruhan most popular?
The single biggest year for Ruhan was 2019, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ruhan is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ruhan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 298 people with the name Ruhan, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,601 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 Ruhan 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 Ruhan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ruhan leans strongly male. 254 people counted with this name were male (87.3%), compared with 37 female bearers (12.7%). 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 Ruhan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ruhan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 78.2%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Ruhan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Ruhan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.2% (233 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 Ruhan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ruhan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ruhan 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 Ruhan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ruhan 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 Ruhan 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 common is the name Ruhan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.