Rumaysa
A feminine Arabic name meaning "one with beautiful eyes".
Name Census estimates that about 321 living Americans carry the first name Rumaysa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rumaysa today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rumaysa births was 2014 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rumaysa. 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 Rumaysa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
321
~ 1 in 1,067,771 Americans
Peak year
2014
31 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,740
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Rumaysa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rumaysa 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 175 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rumaysa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rumaysa 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 Rumaysa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rumaysas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Illinois, New York, California recorded the most babies named Rumaysa, while California, New York, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rumaysa
The name Rumaysa has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing back to the early days of Islam in the 7th century. It is believed to be derived from the Arabic root word "ra-ma-sa," which means "to hint" or "to allude." The name itself carries a connotation of subtlety and indirectness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rumaysa can be found in the historical texts of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled a significant portion of the Islamic world from the 8th to the 13th century. It is mentioned in various accounts and chronicles from that era, suggesting its usage among the nobility and elite circles of the time.
In the realm of religious scriptures, the name Rumaysa is not explicitly mentioned in the Quran or the Hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad). However, its linguistic roots and Arabic origin align with the cultural and linguistic traditions of the Islamic faith.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rumaysa. One of the earliest recorded was Rumaysa bint Milhan, a prominent Arab poet who lived during the Umayyad Caliphate in the 7th century. Her poetry and literary works were highly regarded and celebrated in her time.
Another notable figure was Rumaysa al-Baghdadiya, a renowned scholar and educator who lived in the 9th century during the Abbasid Caliphate. She established a prestigious educational institution in Baghdad, which attracted students from far and wide, and contributed significantly to the advancement of knowledge and learning.
In the 11th century, Rumaysa al-Andalusiya was a prominent female scholar and writer from the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal). She was celebrated for her expertise in various fields, including literature, poetry, and Islamic jurisprudence.
Rumaysa al-Qurashiya, born in the 12th century, was a renowned poet and literary figure from the city of Cordoba in present-day Spain. Her poetic works were widely acclaimed and served as a significant contribution to the rich literary traditions of the Andalusian region.
In the 14th century, Rumaysa bint Ahmad al-Maqdisiya was a celebrated scholar and jurist from Jerusalem. She was renowned for her expertise in Islamic law and her contributions to the study and interpretation of religious texts.
While the name Rumaysa has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has transcended geographic boundaries and found its way into various other regions and communities over the centuries, carrying with it the rich historical and cultural heritage of its origins.
People
Rumaysa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rumaysa 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
Rumaysa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rumaysa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 321 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rumaysa 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 1,067,771 US residents.
Is Rumaysa a common name?
We classify Rumaysa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 323 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rumaysa most popular?
The single biggest year for Rumaysa was 2014, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rumaysa is about 10 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 Rumaysa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rumaysa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rumaysa 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 Rumaysa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rumaysa 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 Rumaysa 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 people share the name Rumaysa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.