Waled
A masculine Arabic name meaning "new son" or "a newborn child".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Waled. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Waled today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Waled births was 2008 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Waled. 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 Waled with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Waled. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2008
5 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2008 SSA rank
#14,507
Tracked since 2008
Census
Waled in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 162 people with the first name Waled, which placed it at #43,512 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
#43,512
National first-name rank
People counted
162
162 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waled
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waled is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (6.2%). 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 Waled 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 Waled at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 130
- Black or African American8.0% · 13
- Two or more races6.2% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.9% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 1
Popularity
Waled: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Waled 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 Waled during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Waled
The name Waled originates from the Arabic language and culture, with roots dating back to the medieval period in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word "walada," which means "to give birth" or "to bear a child." The name carries a connotation of fertility and new life.
In the context of Islamic history, the name Waled appears in various historical records and texts. One notable example is the Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam, where the name is mentioned as a reference to the concept of childbirth and the creation of new life.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Waled can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the early years of the Islamic caliphate. During this time, several prominent figures bore the name, including Waled ibn al-Walid, a renowned military commander who played a crucial role in the Muslim conquests of the Levant and Mesopotamia.
Throughout history, the name Waled has been associated with individuals from various walks of life. One notable figure was Waled ibn Yazid, a prince of the Umayyad Caliphate, who lived in the late 7th and early 8th centuries CE. He was known for his patronage of the arts and his role in the development of Arabic poetry.
Another significant bearer of the name was Waled ibn Abdul Malik, an Umayyad caliph who reigned from 705 to 715 CE. During his reign, he oversaw the expansion of the Islamic empire and the construction of several notable architectural landmarks, including the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
In the field of science and learning, Waled ibn Ishaq al-Naysaburi was a prominent figure. Born in the 9th century CE, he was a renowned mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and the study of celestial bodies.
The name Waled has also been associated with literary figures, such as Waled ibn al-Faraj, a 10th-century Arab poet and scholar from Baghdad. His works were highly regarded and celebrated for their elegance and mastery of the Arabic language.
These examples illustrate the rich historical legacy of the name Waled, which has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and achievements, ranging from military leaders and rulers to scholars and poets. The name's connection to concepts of fertility and new life has endured throughout its long history, reflecting its deep roots in Arabic culture and Islamic tradition.
People
Waled + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Waled as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Waled: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Waled?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Waled 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Waled a common name?
We classify Waled as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Waled most popular?
The single biggest year for Waled was 2008, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Waled 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 Waled in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 162 people with the name Waled, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,512 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 Waled 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 Waled?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Waled leans strongly male. 163 people counted with this name were male (97.0%), compared with 5 female bearers (3.0%). 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 Waled?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waled is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (6.2%). 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 Waled most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Waled in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (130 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 Waled in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Waled a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Waled 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 Waled still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Waled 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 Waled 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 Waled?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Waled at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.