Zameer
A name of Arabic origin meaning "conscience" or "conscience-bound".
Name Census estimates that about 228 living Americans carry the first name Zameer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zameer today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zameer births was 2010 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zameer. 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 Zameer with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
228
~ 1 in 1,503,309 Americans
Peak year
2010
16 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,162
Tracked since 2000
Census
Zameer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 284 people with the first name Zameer, which placed it at #30,583 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
#30,583
National first-name rank
People counted
284
284 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
49.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zameer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zameer is Asian/Pacific Islander at 49.6%. The next largest groups are Black (33.1%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Zameer 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 Zameer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander49.6% · 141
- Black or African American33.1% · 94
- Two or more races6.7% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 16
- White2.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 7
Popularity
Zameer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zameer from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 104 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zameer remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zameer 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 Zameer 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 Zameer
The name Zameer has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Arabic word "dhameer," which means "conscience" or "inner self."
In the Islamic tradition, the concept of "dhameer" holds significant importance, as it is believed to be the inner voice that guides an individual towards righteousness and moral conduct. The name Zameer is a reflection of this spiritual and ethical dimension, representing an individual's moral compass and inner conscience.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Zameer can be found in classical Arabic literature, where it was occasionally used as a descriptive term for individuals known for their upright character and strong moral principles.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zameer, leaving their mark in various fields. One of the earliest known figures was Zameer al-Andalusi (1035-1104), a renowned Andalusian philosopher and scholar who made significant contributions to the fields of logic and metaphysics.
Another prominent figure was Zameer al-Din Khwafi (1170-1242), a Persian mathematician and astronomer who is credited with developing innovative methods for calculating the positions of celestial bodies.
During the Mughal era in India, the name Zameer gained popularity among Muslim families. One notable individual was Zameer Khan (1642-1712), a military commander and strategist who played a crucial role in the expansion of the Mughal Empire under the reign of Aurangzeb.
In more recent times, Zameer Ahmed Choudhry (1913-1984), a Pakistani politician and diplomat, left a lasting legacy as a champion of human rights and international cooperation. He served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1962 to 1963.
Another individual of note was Zameer Uddin Shah (1942-2021), a renowned Indian actor and director, who received critical acclaim for his performances in both art-house and commercial films, including "Paar" and "Masoom."
While the name Zameer has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic tradition, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained recognition in various parts of the world, particularly in regions with strong Muslim communities or cultural influences.
People
Zameer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zameer 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
Zameer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zameer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 228 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zameer 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 1,503,309 US residents.
Is Zameer a common name?
We classify Zameer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 230 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zameer most popular?
The single biggest year for Zameer was 2010, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zameer is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zameer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 284 people with the name Zameer, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,583 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 Zameer 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 Zameer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zameer leans strongly male. 281 people counted with this name were male (96.9%), compared with 9 female bearers (3.1%). 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 Zameer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zameer is Asian/Pacific Islander at 49.6%. The next largest groups are Black (33.1%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Zameer most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Zameer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.6% (141 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 Zameer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zameer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zameer 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 Zameer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zameer 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 Zameer 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 Zameer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.