Warda
An Arabic name meaning "rose" or "flower".
Name Census estimates that about 200 living Americans carry the first name Warda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Warda today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Warda births was 1998 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Warda. 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 Warda with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
200
~ 1 in 1,713,772 Americans
Peak year
1998
13 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,490
Tracked since 1989
Census
Warda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 696 people with the first name Warda, which placed it at #16,263 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
#16,263
National first-name rank
People counted
696
696 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
39.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Warda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Warda is White at 39.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (29.7%) and Black (24.1%). 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 Warda 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 Warda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White39.9% · 278
- Asian and Pacific Islander29.7% · 207
- Black or African American24.1% · 168
- Two or more races5.0% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
Popularity
Warda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Warda from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 70 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Warda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Warda 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 Warda 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 Warda
The name Warda has its origins in the Arabic language, where it means "rose" or "flower." This name dates back to ancient times and was likely used to describe the beauty and fragrance of a woman. In Arabic poetry, the rose is often used as a metaphor for a beautiful and virtuous woman.
The earliest recorded use of the name Warda can be found in medieval Arabic literature, particularly in the works of renowned poets like Ibn al-Farid and Al-Mutanabbi. These poets often praised the beauty and grace of women with the name Warda, likening them to the delicate petals and sweet scent of a rose.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Warda was Warda bint al-Maymun al-Azdiya, a 7th-century Arab poet who lived during the early years of Islam. She was renowned for her eloquence and skill in composing poetry, and her works were highly regarded by her contemporaries.
In the 10th century, Warda al-Yamaniyya was a celebrated singer and musician from Yemen. She was known for her exceptional voice and her ability to captivate audiences with her performances. Her fame spread throughout the Islamic world, and she was patronized by many wealthy and influential figures of her time.
Another notable Warda was Warda al-Qazwini, a 12th-century Persian poet and scholar. She was widely respected for her knowledge of literature, philosophy, and Islamic sciences. Her poetry was admired for its depth and eloquence, and she was considered one of the most accomplished female poets of her era.
In more recent history, Warda Al-Jazairia, born in 1939, was a renowned Algerian singer and actress. She was known as the "Rose of Algeria" and was celebrated for her powerful voice and her contribution to preserving and promoting Algerian culture through her music and performances.
Warda Mohamed Ali Ismail, born in 1924, was an Egyptian singer and actress who achieved immense popularity in the Arab world. She was often referred to as the "Queen of Egyptian Song" and was renowned for her versatility in performing a wide range of musical styles, from traditional Arabic to contemporary pop.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have borne the name Warda throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields such as literature, music, and the arts.
People
Warda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Warda 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
Warda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Warda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 200 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Warda 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 1,713,772 US residents.
Is Warda a common name?
We classify Warda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 203 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Warda most popular?
The single biggest year for Warda was 1998, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Warda is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Warda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 696 people with the name Warda, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,263 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 Warda 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 Warda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Warda leans strongly female. 657 people counted with this name were female (95.6%), compared with 30 male bearers (4.4%). 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 Warda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Warda is White at 39.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (29.7%) and Black (24.1%). 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 Warda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Warda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.9% (278 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 Warda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Warda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Warda 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 Warda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Warda 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 Warda 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 have Warda as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Warda on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.