Wesam
An Arabic name meaning "mark" or "beauty mark".
Name Census estimates that about 358 living Americans carry the first name Wesam. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wesam today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wesam births was 2014 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wesam. 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 Wesam with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
358
~ 1 in 957,414 Americans
Peak year
2014
22 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,218
Tracked since 1976
Census
Wesam in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 741 people with the first name Wesam, which placed it at #15,497 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
#15,497
National first-name rank
People counted
741
741 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
90.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wesam
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wesam is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (2.2%). 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 Wesam 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 Wesam at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 671
- Two or more races4.7% · 35
- Black or African American2.2% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Wesam: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wesam from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 127 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wesam 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 Wesam during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wesams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Wesam, while Texas, Ohio, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wesam
The name Wesam has its origins in the Arabic language and is believed to have emerged during the early Islamic era, around the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic root word "wasama," which means "to be marked" or "to be branded." The name may have been given to individuals who bore distinctive physical markings or traits.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Wesam can be found in historical texts from the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, which ruled over vast territories in the Middle East and North Africa between the 7th and 13th centuries. During this period, the name was likely associated with individuals of Arab descent, particularly those from the regions that are now modern-day Syria, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula.
In Islamic tradition, the name Wesam does not hold any direct religious significance or connection to prominent figures from the Quran or the life of the Prophet Muhammad. However, it has been embraced as a suitable name for Muslim children due to its Arabic roots and meaning.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Wesam. One of the earliest recorded figures was Wesam al-Din Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr, a 12th-century Persian scholar and poet from Herat, Afghanistan, who wrote extensively on subjects such as literature, philosophy, and astronomy.
Another prominent figure was Wesam al-Din Qadir Khan, a 16th-century Mughal governor and military commander who served under the renowned emperor Akbar the Great in India. He played a key role in the expansion and consolidation of the Mughal Empire's territories.
In more recent times, Wesam Adian, born in 1952, was a renowned Syrian poet and writer who explored themes of love, identity, and societal issues in his works. His poetry collections, such as "Mirrors of Loneliness" and "The Seventh Gate," gained widespread recognition and critical acclaim.
Wesam Cherkaoui, born in 1975, is a prominent Moroccan-Dutch novelist and playwright whose works often explore the experiences of immigrants and the intersection of different cultures. His debut novel, "The Carpet Merchant," received numerous literary awards and critical acclaim.
Wesam Rizk, born in 1980, is an Egyptian singer and actor who has gained popularity for his contributions to the Arabic music industry. He has released several successful albums and has also appeared in several Egyptian television series and films.
It is worth noting that while these are some of the more notable individuals who have borne the name Wesam throughout history, the name has been used by many others across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its enduring appeal and cultural significance.
People
Wesam + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wesam 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
Wesam: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wesam?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 358 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wesam 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 957,414 US residents.
Is Wesam a common name?
We classify Wesam as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 366 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wesam most popular?
The single biggest year for Wesam was 2014, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wesam is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wesam in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 741 people with the name Wesam, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,497 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 Wesam 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 Wesam?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wesam leans strongly male. 603 people counted with this name were male (81.5%), compared with 137 female bearers (18.5%). 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 Wesam?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wesam is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (2.2%). 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 Wesam most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Wesam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (671 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 Wesam in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wesam a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wesam 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 Wesam still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wesam 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 Wesam 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 Americans are named Wesam?
See how many Americans are named Wesam on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.