Taraji
A feminine name of African origin meaning "dream pursuer".
Name Census estimates that about 2,776 living Americans carry the first name Taraji. It is a predominantly female name (98.2% of registrations). The average person named Taraji today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Taraji births was 2010 (437 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Taraji. 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 Taraji with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Taraji is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.8K
~ 1 in 123,471 Americans
Peak year
2010
437 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2014 SSA rank
#4,269
Tracked since 2002
Census
Taraji in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,954 people with the first name Taraji, which placed it at #7,698 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
#7,698
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,954 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Taraji
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taraji is Black at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (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 Taraji 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 Taraji at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.5% · 1,788
- Two or more races3.8% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 58
- White0.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Taraji
Taraji leans heavily female at 98.2% of total registrations, but 50 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Taraji as a male name
- Ranked #11,941 in 2014
- 6 male births in 2014
- Peak: 2010 (14 births)
Taraji as a female name
- Ranked #4,269 in 2024
- 34 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (423 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Taraji leans strongly female. 1,886 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 64 male bearers (3.3%).
Popularity
Taraji: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Taraji 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 2,150 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Taraji 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 Taraji during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tarajis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Taraji, while Oklahoma, Kentucky, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 85 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Taraji
The given name Taraji has its roots in the Arabic language. It is derived from the Arabic word "taraj," which means "crown" or "diadem." The name gained popularity in the Islamic world during the medieval period, particularly in regions like the Middle East and North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Taraji can be found in the 9th century. Taraji al-Muqri, a renowned Islamic scholar and calligrapher, lived during this time period. He was known for his expertise in the recitation of the Quran and his contributions to the art of Arabic calligraphy.
In the 11th century, Taraji ibn al-Murahhal, a distinguished Arab poet and literary figure, was born in Cordoba, Spain. His poetic works were highly acclaimed and celebrated for their lyrical beauty and depth of emotion.
Another notable figure with the name Taraji was Taraji al-Ansari, a 12th-century Islamic scholar and theologian from Baghdad. He was renowned for his extensive knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and his contributions to the study of Hadith (sayings and traditions of Prophet Muhammad).
In the 14th century, Taraji al-Dimashqi, a Syrian astronomer and mathematician, made significant advancements in the field of astronomy. His work on celestial mechanics and the development of astronomical instruments earned him widespread recognition.
Taraji al-Ghazzawi, a 15th-century Moroccan scholar and historian, is also remembered for his influential writings on the history and culture of the Maghreb region (North Africa).
The name Taraji has been carried by many influential individuals throughout history, spanning various fields such as literature, religion, science, and academia. While its usage may have fluctuated over time, the name continues to hold cultural significance and a rich historical legacy in the Arabic-speaking world.
People
Taraji + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Taraji as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Taraji: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Taraji?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,776 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Taraji 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 123,471 US residents.
Is Taraji a common name?
We classify Taraji as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,799 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Taraji most popular?
The single biggest year for Taraji was 2010, when 437 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Taraji is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Taraji in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,954 people with the name Taraji, or 0.65 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,698 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 Taraji 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 Taraji?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Taraji leans strongly female. 1,886 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 64 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Taraji?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taraji is Black at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (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 Taraji most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Taraji in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (1,788 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 Taraji in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Taraji a female name?
Yes, 98.2% of people registered as Taraji 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 Taraji still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Taraji 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 Taraji 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 Taraji?
Find out how many people have the name Taraji on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.