2000
#14,689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,856
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Rahim
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "merciful," derived from one of the 99 names of Allah in Islam.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,684 Americans carry the last name Rahim. That puts it at #9,657 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,039 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rahim surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rahim with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 93,039
Census rank
#9,657
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,213 bearers of the surname Rahim in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9657th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rahim, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 54.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and White (15.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rahim
The surname RAHIM originated in the Arabic-speaking regions of the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word "rahim," which means "merciful" or "compassionate." The name likely emerged during the early centuries of Islamic civilization, as Arabic names and surnames became widespread across the region.
One of the earliest references to the name RAHIM can be found in the writings of medieval Islamic scholars and historians. For instance, the 9th-century historian al-Tabari mentions individuals with the surname RAHIM in his chronicles of Islamic history.
The surname RAHIM has been particularly prevalent in regions such as modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of India and Pakistan, where Arabic linguistic and cultural influences have been strong. In these areas, the name has been associated with both religious and secular figures throughout history.
One notable individual who bore the surname RAHIM was the Persian poet and philosopher Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), whose full name was Jalaluddin Muhammad Rumi RAHIM. Rumi is widely regarded as one of the most influential poets in the Persian literary tradition and a major figure in Sufism.
Another prominent bearer of the RAHIM surname was the 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar (1542-1605), whose full name was Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar RAHIM. Akbar was known for his religious tolerance and administrative reforms, and his reign is considered a golden age in Indian history.
In the 19th century, Mirza Asadullah Khan RAHIM (1835-1891) was a prominent Indian Muslim scholar and author who wrote extensively on Islamic theology and jurisprudence. His works had a significant impact on the intellectual discourse of the time.
The surname RAHIM has also been associated with various place names and geographic locations. For example, the town of Rahim Yar Khan in modern-day Pakistan is named after a local ruler who bore the surname RAHIM.
Throughout history, the RAHIM surname has been linked to individuals from diverse backgrounds, including religious scholars, poets, rulers, and intellectuals. While the name has its roots in the Arabic language, it has spread and taken on various cultural and regional variations across the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of the Indian subcontinent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rahim
Among Census respondents with the surname Rahim, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 54.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and White (15.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rahim bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Rahim surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander54.2% · 1,742
- Black or African American17.4% · 558
- White15.9% · 511
- Two or more races8.2% · 264
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 114
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rahim
Rahim appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#12,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,601
+745 bearers (+40.1%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 2,684 places
2020
#9,657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,213
+612 bearers (+23.5%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 2,348 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,689 | 1,856 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,005 | 2,601 | 0.88 | +745 bearers (+40.1%) | Up 2,684 places |
| 2020 | #9,657 | 3,213 | 1.07 | +612 bearers (+23.5%) | Up 2,348 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Rahim surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,005 | #9,657 | 19.6% |
| Count | 2,601 | 3,213 | 23.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 1.07 | 22.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rahim bearers went from 2,601 to 3,213 (+23.5% change). The surname moved up 2,348 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,005 to #9,657.
FAQ
Rahim surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rahim?
Name Census estimates that about 3,684 living Americans carry the surname Rahim. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,039 residents.
How common is Rahim?
Rahim ranks #9,657 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,213 people with the surname Rahim. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,684), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Rahim.
Has Rahim become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rahim went from 2,601 recorded bearers to 3,213. That is an increase of 612 (+23.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,005 to #9,657.
What does the Census say about the background of Rahim?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rahim, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 54.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and White (15.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rahim in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.2% (1,742 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rahim appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (54.2%), Black (17.4%), White (15.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Rahim (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Rahim mean?
A surname of Arabic origin meaning "merciful," derived from one of the 99 names of Allah in Islam. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Rahim (1.07 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Rahim?
You can see how common the surname Rahim is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.