Suhaib
A masculine Arabic name meaning companion or friend.
Name Census estimates that about 488 living Americans carry the first name Suhaib. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Suhaib today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Suhaib births was 2019 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Suhaib. 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 Suhaib with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
488
~ 1 in 702,365 Americans
Peak year
2019
36 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,016
Tracked since 1991
Census
Suhaib in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 563 people with the first name Suhaib, which placed it at #18,985 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
#18,985
National first-name rank
People counted
563
563 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suhaib
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suhaib is White at 43.7%. The next largest groups are Black (27.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (26.3%). 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 Suhaib 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 Suhaib at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.7% · 246
- Black or African American27.4% · 154
- Asian and Pacific Islander26.3% · 148
- Two or more races2.1% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 3
Popularity
Suhaib: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Suhaib from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 239 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Suhaib remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Suhaib 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 Suhaib during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Suhaibs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Minnesota, Ohio, California recorded the most babies named Suhaib, while California, Ohio, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Suhaib
The name Suhaib has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to the 7th century during the rise of Islam. It is derived from the Arabic word "sahib," which means "companion" or "friend." The name Suhaib has a strong connection to the early Muslim community and the life of Prophet Muhammad.
One of the most notable historical references to the name Suhaib is found in the story of Suhaib ibn Sinan, a companion of Prophet Muhammad. He was born in Yemen in the late 6th century and was one of the first people to embrace Islam. Suhaib faced persecution in Mecca for his faith and was forced to migrate to Medina along with other early Muslims. Prophet Muhammad praised him for his steadfastness and devotion.
The earliest recorded example of the name Suhaib can be found in the biographies of the companions of Prophet Muhammad, known as the "Sahaba." These accounts, recorded in the 7th and 8th centuries, document the lives of individuals like Suhaib ibn Sinan, who played crucial roles in the early Muslim community.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Suhaib. One of them was Suhaib al-Rumi, a Persian scholar and poet who lived in the 9th century. He was renowned for his expertise in Arabic literature and his poetic works.
Another famous Suhaib was Suhaib Erdem, a Turkish historian and author who lived from 1913 to 1985. He made significant contributions to the study of Ottoman history and published numerous books on the subject.
In the modern era, Suhaib Webb, an American Islamic scholar and former hip-hop artist, has gained prominence for his work in promoting Islamic teachings and connecting with Muslim youth. He was born in 1976 and has authored several books on Islam.
Suhaib Ilyasi, an Indian television host and producer, is also a notable figure associated with the name. He was born in 1961 and is best known for hosting the popular crime TV show "India's Most Wanted."
These are just a few examples of prominent individuals throughout history who have carried the name Suhaib, reflecting its deep-rooted significance within the Arabic and Islamic traditions.
People
Suhaib + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Suhaib 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
Suhaib: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Suhaib?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 488 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Suhaib 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 702,365 US residents.
Is Suhaib a common name?
We classify Suhaib as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 493 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Suhaib most popular?
The single biggest year for Suhaib was 2019, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Suhaib 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 Suhaib in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 563 people with the name Suhaib, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,985 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 Suhaib 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 Suhaib?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Suhaib appears almost entirely male. Of the 560 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Suhaib?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suhaib is White at 43.7%. The next largest groups are Black (27.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (26.3%). 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 Suhaib most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Suhaib in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.7% (246 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 Suhaib in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Suhaib a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Suhaib 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 Suhaib still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Suhaib 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 Suhaib 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 are named Suhaib?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.