Uwais
An Arabic masculine name meaning "little wolf" or "little bear cub".
Name Census estimates that about 62 living Americans carry the first name Uwais. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Uwais today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Uwais births was 2012 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Uwais. 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 Uwais with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Uwais. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
62
~ 1 in 5,528,296 Americans
Peak year
2012
13 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,673
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Uwais: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Uwais from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 42 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Uwais remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Uwais 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 Uwais during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Uwais
The name Uwais is of Arabic origin and is derived from the root word "wassa," meaning "to be brave" or "to be courageous." It is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula during the pre-Islamic era and was later adopted by Muslims after the advent of Islam.
In Islamic tradition, Uwais al-Qarani is considered one of the greatest saints and a revered figure in Sufism. According to historical accounts, he lived during the 7th century and was a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad, although they never met in person. Uwais al-Qarani is known for his piety, asceticism, and spiritual wisdom, and his name has become synonymous with devotion and mysticism in the Islamic world.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Uwais can be found in the writings of the renowned Islamic scholar and mystic, Al-Ghazali (1058-1111 CE). In his work, "The Revival of the Religious Sciences," Al-Ghazali mentions Uwais al-Qarani as an exemplary figure of spiritual enlightenment and self-denial.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Uwais. One of the most famous was Uwais al-Qarani himself, who is said to have lived during the 7th century CE in Yemen or Syria, depending on the source. Another notable figure was Uwais al-Qarani al-Maghribi (1188-1269 CE), a Sufi saint and scholar from Morocco who wrote extensively on Islamic mysticism and spirituality.
In the 13th century, Uwais al-Bukhari (1213-1294 CE) was a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from Bukhara, now in Uzbekistan. He is known for his contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence and his commentaries on the Quran.
In more recent times, Uwais Qarni (1853-1949 CE) was a renowned Muslim scholar and reformer from India. He played a significant role in the revival of Islamic education and the promotion of Islamic values in the subcontinent.
Lastly, Uwais al-Qarni (1958-present), a contemporary Saudi Arabian scholar and author, has gained widespread recognition for his writings on various Islamic topics, including spirituality, self-improvement, and social issues.
People
Uwais + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Uwais 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
Uwais: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Uwais?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 62 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Uwais 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 5,528,296 US residents.
Is Uwais a common name?
We classify Uwais as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 62 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Uwais most popular?
The single biggest year for Uwais was 2012, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Uwais is about 9 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 Uwais in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Uwais a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Uwais 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 Uwais still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Uwais 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 Uwais 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 common is the name Uwais?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Uwais at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.