Siham
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "sword" or "arrow".
Name Census estimates that about 738 living Americans carry the first name Siham. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Siham today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Siham births was 2015 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Siham. 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 Siham with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
738
~ 1 in 464,437 Americans
Peak year
2015
48 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,916
Tracked since 1986
Census
Siham in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,155 people with the first name Siham, which placed it at #7,156 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
#7,156
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,155 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Siham
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Siham is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Black (27.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Siham 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 Siham at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.5% · 1,433
- Black or African American27.6% · 595
- Two or more races3.0% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 29
Popularity
Siham: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Siham from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 378 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Siham remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Siham 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 Siham during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sihams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Minnesota, Ohio, Washington recorded the most babies named Siham, while New York, Washington, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 70 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Siham
The name Siham is of Arabic origin and has been in use since ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "sihaam," which means "arrows" or "spears." The name is believed to have been given to children with the hope that they would grow up to be strong and courageous warriors.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Siham can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. In the Quran, the word "sihaam" is mentioned in reference to the arrows used in divination practices during pre-Islamic times. This suggests that the name Siham has been in use since the 7th century AD or earlier.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Siham. One of the earliest recorded examples is Siham bint Abi Bakr, who lived during the 7th century AD. She was the daughter of Abu Bakr, one of the closest companions of the Prophet Muhammad and the first Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
Another famous Siham was Siham al-Mulk, a powerful and influential woman who lived during the 11th century AD. She was the wife of the Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah I and played a significant role in the political affairs of the Seljuk Empire.
In the realm of literature, there is Siham Antara, a renowned Arabic poet who lived in the 6th century AD. She was known for her powerful and evocative poetry, which often celebrated the virtues of courage and honor.
Moving forward in time, Siham Rayyes was a prominent Lebanese writer and journalist who lived from 1904 to 1985. She was a pioneer in the field of women's rights and played a significant role in the cultural and literary renaissance of the Arab world.
Finally, Siham Jaffer was an influential Tanzanian politician and diplomat who lived from 1926 to 2006. She served as a member of the Tanzanian parliament and was the first woman to be appointed as a cabinet minister in Tanzania.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals named Siham throughout history, showcasing the rich and diverse cultural heritage associated with this ancient Arabic name.
People
Siham + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Siham as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Siham: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Siham?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 738 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Siham 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 464,437 US residents.
Is Siham a common name?
We classify Siham as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 746 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Siham most popular?
The single biggest year for Siham was 2015, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Siham is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Siham in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,155 people with the name Siham, or 0.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,156 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 Siham 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 Siham?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Siham leans strongly female. 2,129 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 33 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Siham?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Siham is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Black (27.6%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Siham most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Siham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.5% (1,433 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 Siham in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Siham a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Siham 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 Siham still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Siham 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 Siham 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 Siham?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.