Waris
A masculine Arabic name meaning "heir" or "inheritor".
Name Census estimates that about 224 living Americans carry the first name Waris. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Waris today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Waris births was 2024 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Waris. 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 Waris with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
224
~ 1 in 1,530,153 Americans
Peak year
2024
31 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,672
Tracked since 2003
Census
Waris in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 311 people with the first name Waris, which placed it at #28,739 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
#28,739
National first-name rank
People counted
311
311 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
58.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waris
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waris is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.2%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Waris 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 Waris at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander58.2% · 181
- Black or African American28.0% · 87
- Two or more races5.8% · 18
- White4.2% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 4
Popularity
Waris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Waris from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 111 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
Waris 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 Waris during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Waris' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Waris
The name Waris has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "warith," which means "heir" or "inheritor." The name carries a sense of inheritance, legacy, and continuity.
In Islamic tradition, the term "waris" is often used to refer to those who inherit the teachings and spiritual legacy of the Prophet Muhammad. As such, the name Waris has been closely associated with Islamic culture and religious traditions throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Waris can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The Quran mentions the concept of inheritance and the rights of heirs, further cementing the name's significance in the Islamic faith.
Historically, the name Waris has been borne by several notable figures. One of the most prominent was Waris Shah (1722-1798), a renowned Punjabi Sufi poet from the Indian subcontinent. His epic poem, "Heer Ranjha," is considered a masterpiece of Punjabi literature and has had a lasting impact on the region's cultural heritage.
Another famous Waris was Waris Ahluwalia (1974-), an Indian-American actor, designer, and model. He has appeared in various films and television shows and is known for his distinctive appearance, often sporting a turban and maintaining his Sikh identity.
In the realm of politics, Waris Mir (1957-), a Pakistani politician, served as the Chief Minister of Balochistan province from 2015 to 2018. His name carried the legacy of his family's political influence in the region.
Waris Dirie (1965-), a Somali model, author, and human rights activist, is another notable figure who bears the name. She is renowned for her work in raising awareness about female genital mutilation and advocating for women's rights globally.
The name Waris has also been present in the world of sports. Waris Siddiqui (1909-1995) was a renowned Pakistani cricketer who played for the Indian cricket team before the partition of India and Pakistan. He was a talented all-rounder and captained the Indian team in several matches.
These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and achievements of individuals who have carried the name Waris throughout history, spanning various fields and cultures.
People
Waris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Waris 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
Waris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Waris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 224 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Waris 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 1,530,153 US residents.
Is Waris a common name?
We classify Waris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 226 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Waris most popular?
The single biggest year for Waris was 2024, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Waris is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Waris in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 311 people with the name Waris, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,739 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 Waris 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 Waris?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Waris on both sides of the split. Of the 306 people counted with this name, 244 were male (79.7%) and 62 were female (20.3%). 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 Waris?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Waris is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.2%. The next largest groups are Black (28.0%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Waris most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Waris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.2% (181 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 Waris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Waris a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Waris 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 Waris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Waris 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 Waris 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 called Waris?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.