Usman
A masculine Arabic name meaning "prosperous" or "thriving".
Name Census estimates that about 1,597 living Americans carry the first name Usman. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Usman today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Usman births was 2022 (97 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Usman. 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 Usman with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 214,624 Americans
Peak year
2022
97 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,717
Tracked since 1979
Census
Usman in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,664 people with the first name Usman, which placed it at #6,118 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
#6,118
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,664 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
84.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Usman
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Usman is Asian/Pacific Islander at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and White (3.6%). 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 Usman 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 Usman at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander84.6% · 2,255
- Black or African American8.0% · 212
- White3.6% · 96
- Two or more races2.4% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 36
Popularity
Usman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Usman from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 420 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Usman 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 Usman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Usmans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Usman, while Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 90 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Usman
The name Usman is derived from the Arabic root word "سَمِعَ" (sama'a), which means "to hear" or "to listen." It is a masculine name that has been widely used in various cultures and regions influenced by Islamic traditions.
The name Usman has a strong connection to the Islamic faith and history. It is the name of the third Caliph (leader) of the Islamic empire after the death of Prophet Muhammad. Usman ibn Affan (577-656 CE) was a prominent companion of the Prophet and played a significant role in the early days of Islam. He was responsible for the compilation and standardization of the Quran, the holy book of Islam.
The name Usman can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic expansion and the reign of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. It gained popularity and spread across the regions conquered by the Muslim armies, including parts of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Usman. One of the earliest examples is Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817), a prominent Islamic scholar, religious leader, and the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in present-day northern Nigeria. Another famous figure is Usman Ghazi (c. 1668-1688), a Turko-Afghan warrior and military leader who played a crucial role in the conquest of the Indian subcontinent.
In the Ottoman Empire, Usman I (c. 1258-1326) was the founder and the first Sultan of the Ottoman dynasty, which ruled over a vast territory spanning three continents for over six centuries. His name is also associated with the term "Osmanli," which refers to the Ottoman people and their culture.
Another notable figure is Usman Semavi (1838-1923), a prominent Turkish statesman and reformer who served as the Grand Vizier (Prime Minister) of the Ottoman Empire during the late 19th century.
The name Usman has also been used by various rulers, scholars, and prominent figures throughout the Islamic world, including in regions such as Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, reflecting its widespread acceptance and cultural significance.
People
Usman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Usman as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Usman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Usman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,597 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Usman 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 214,624 US residents.
Is Usman a common name?
We classify Usman as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,622 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Usman most popular?
The single biggest year for Usman was 2022, when 97 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Usman is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Usman in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,664 people with the name Usman, or 0.88 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,118 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 Usman 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 Usman?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Usman appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,664 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 Usman?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Usman is Asian/Pacific Islander at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and White (3.6%). 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 Usman most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Usman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (2,255 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 Usman in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Usman a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Usman 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 Usman still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Usman 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 Usman 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 Usman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.