Zaheer
An Arabic name meaning "shining," "bright," or "luminous."
Name Census estimates that about 315 living Americans carry the first name Zaheer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zaheer today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zaheer births was 2023 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zaheer. 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 Zaheer with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
315
~ 1 in 1,088,109 Americans
Peak year
2023
32 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,214
Tracked since 1989
Census
Zaheer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 741 people with the first name Zaheer, 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
Asian and Pacific Islander
72.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zaheer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zaheer is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Zaheer 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 Zaheer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander72.9% · 540
- Black or African American15.4% · 114
- Two or more races5.5% · 41
- White3.9% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Zaheer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zaheer from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 117 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
Zaheer 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 Zaheer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zaheers live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zaheer
The name Zaheer has its origins in the Arabic language and is derived from the word "zahir," which means "shining," "brilliant," or "luminous." It is a traditionally Muslim name that has been in use for centuries.
In the Islamic world, the name Zaheer is believed to have first appeared in the 7th century CE, during the time of the Prophet Muhammad and the early spread of Islam. It may have been inspired by verses from the Quran that describe the divine light or radiance of God.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Zaheer was Zaheer bin Qais, a renowned Arab poet who lived in the 6th century CE. He was known for his eloquence and mastery of the Arabic language.
Another notable figure in history with the name Zaheer was Zaheer al-Din Baibars, a Mamluk sultan who ruled over Egypt and Syria during the 13th century CE (1260-1277). He was a skilled military leader and played a pivotal role in defending the region against the Mongol invasions.
In the 14th century, Zaheer al-Din Muhammad Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire in India, was born in 1483. He was a descendant of Genghis Khan and is famous for his memoirs, the Baburnama, which provide valuable insights into the cultural and political landscape of the time.
During the 17th century, Zaheer al-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, ruled over a vast territory in the Indian subcontinent from 1658 to 1707. He was known for his expansionist policies and for upholding Islamic traditions and laws during his reign.
In more recent times, Zaheer Abbas, a Pakistani cricketer who played from 1969 to 1985, was a prominent figure with this name. He was a skilled batsman and is considered one of the greatest cricketers in Pakistan's history.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Zaheer throughout history, reflecting its enduring significance and presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Zaheer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zaheer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zaheer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zaheer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 315 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zaheer 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 1,088,109 US residents.
Is Zaheer a common name?
We classify Zaheer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 318 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zaheer most popular?
The single biggest year for Zaheer was 2023, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zaheer is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zaheer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 741 people with the name Zaheer, 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 Zaheer 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 Zaheer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zaheer appears almost entirely male. Of the 742 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Zaheer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zaheer is Asian/Pacific Islander at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Zaheer most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Zaheer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.9% (540 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 Zaheer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zaheer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zaheer 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 Zaheer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zaheer 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 Zaheer 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 named Zaheer?
Find out how many people have the name Zaheer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.