boys' name ★ peaked 2015

Ahmed

Meaning Borrowed from Arabic أَحْمَد (ʔaḥmad) Gender Boy Rank 2025 #703 Trend ↓ Falling 12%

Borrowed from Arabic أَحْمَد (ʔaḥmad).

Rank 2025
#703
among boys · ↓13 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
382
named Ahmed · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 4,471
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2015
590 babies
All-time total
17,282
#899 all-time among boys
First recorded
1929
in Social Security records

Ahmed popularity over time

17,282 babies have been named Ahmed since 1929, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.10.20.30.418801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2015Boys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Boys Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s – – – –
1920s 6 1 – #3,563
1930s 8 1 +33% #2,631
1940s 31 3 +287% #2,866
1950s 80 8 +158% #2,251
1960s 221 22 +176% #1,312
1970s 676 68 +206% #865
1980s 1,436 144 +112% #669
1990s 2,703 270 +88% #522
2000s 4,477 448 +66% #490
2010s 5,219 522 +17% #495
2020s (to 2025) 2,425 404 -23% #634

Where Ahmed is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 373 0.22 outside top 500
2027 366 0.21 outside top 500
2028 360 0.21 outside top 500
2029 354 0.21 outside top 500
2030 350 0.20 outside top 500

Where Ahmed is most popular

Boys named Ahmed per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.232 per 1,000. Strongest in Minnesota, Michigan, and New York.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Ahmed born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Minnesota 141 1.15 +396%
Michigan 154 0.752 +224%
New York 319 0.737 +218%
Virginia 86 0.453 +96%
New Jersey 81 0.402 +74%
Maryland 47 0.394 +70%
Illinois 99 0.387 +67%
Connecticut 26 0.384 +66%
Ohio 89 0.336 +45%
Washington 46 0.281 +21%
Massachusetts 36 0.262 +13%
Pennsylvania 68 0.256 +10%
Colorado 30 0.232 ≈ national
Missouri 28 0.202 -13%
North Carolina 51 0.200 -14%
Tennessee 36 0.199 -14%
California 148 0.162 -30%
Georgia 41 0.162 -30%
Indiana 25 0.156 -33%
Texas 129 0.146 -37%
Iowa 10 0.145 -37%
Kentucky 12 0.120 -48%
Florida 51 0.108 -54%
Nevada 6 0.105 -55%
Arizona 15 0.092 -60%
Kansas 5 0.073 -69%
Oregon 5 0.066 -72%
Louisiana 5 0.049 -79%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ahmed

Ahmed is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #703 in 2025 with 382 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1929, 17,282 American babies have been named Ahmed. Its peak came in 2015, when 590 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ahmed stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ahmed?

The median living Ahmed is about 17 years old; half are between 9 and 27. An estimated 17 thousand people named Ahmed are alive in the United States today.

median 17 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ahmed year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Boys Boys rank
2025 382 #703
2024 394 #690
2023 419 #652
2022 410 #666
2021 397 #675
2020 423 #634
2019 462 #598
2018 523 #536
2017 558 #518
2016 582 #515
2015 590 #496
2014 501 #548
2013 510 #521
2012 540 #495
2011 477 #534
2010 476 #537
2009 446 #586
2008 443 #579
2007 448 #573
2006 443 #565
2005 424 #560
2004 454 #525
2003 429 #537
2002 448 #508
2001 466 #492
2000 476 #490
1995 243 #677
1990 204 #710
1985 126 #792
1980 108 #850
1975 61 #1,065
1970 41 #1,297
1965 20 #1,774
1960 12 #2,424
1955 10 #2,560
1950 5 #3,692
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 – –
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Ahmed

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ahmed I Ahmed I Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617 1590–1617 · 16th century
  2. 2 Ahmed Yassin Ahmed Yassin Palestinian political and religious leader (1936–2004) 1937–2004 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr President of Iraq from 1968 to 1979 1914–1982 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi Indian Islamic scholar (1856–1921) 19th century
  5. 5 Ahmed III Ahmed III Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1703 to 1730 1673–1736 · 17th century
  6. 6 Ahmed Chalabi Ahmed Chalabi Iraqi politician (1945–2015) 1944–2015 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella President of Algeria from 1963 to 1965 1916–2012 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Ahmed Deedat Ahmed Deedat South African–Indian Islamic orator and author (1918–2005) Contemporary
  9. 9 Ahmed II Ahmed II Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1691 to 1695 1643–1695 · 17th century
  10. 10 Ahmed Sékou Touré Ahmed Sékou Touré President of Guinea from 1958 to 1984 1922–1984 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Ahmed Faras Ahmed Faras Moroccan footballer (1946–2025) Contemporary
  12. 12 Ahmed Zewail Ahmed Zewail Egyptian and American chemist (1946–2016) Contemporary
  13. 13 Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf Sudanese politician (born 1956) b. 1954 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Ahmed Zaki Yamani Ahmed Zaki Yamani Saudi Arabian politician (1930–2021) Contemporary
  15. 15 Ahmed Aboul Gheit Ahmed Aboul Gheit Egyptian politician and diplomat (born 1942) Contemporary
  16. 16 Ahmed Jibril Ahmed Jibril Palestinian politician (1937–2021) b. 1938 · Contemporary
  17. 17 Ahmed Shafik Ahmed Shafik Prime Minister of Egypt from January 2011 to March 2011 b. 1941 · Contemporary
  18. 18 Ahmed Dogan Ahmed Dogan Bulgarian politician and oligarch (born 1954) Contemporary
  19. 19 Ahmed Muhtar Pasha Ahmed Muhtar Pasha Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1839-1919) 19th century
  20. 20 Ahmed Shawqi Ahmed Shawqi Egyptian poet (1868–1932) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ahmed, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ahmed?

The median living Ahmed is about 17 years old. Half of all living Ahmeds are between 9 and 27 years old.

How many people named Ahmed are alive today?

An estimated 17 thousand people named Ahmed are alive in the United States, based on 17,282 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ahmed mean?

Borrowed from Arabic أَحْمَد (ʔaḥmad).

How popular is the name Ahmed in 2025?

Ahmed ranked #703 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 382 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ahmed?

17,282 babies have been named Ahmed in the United States since 1929, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ahmed most popular?

Ahmed peaked in 2015, when 590 newborns received the name.

Is Ahmed a boy or girl name?

Ahmed is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Ahmed rising or falling?

Ahmed is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ahmed become more popular?

Ahmed is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 350 boys named Ahmed in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ahmed?

Well-known people named Ahmed include Ahmed I (politician), Ahmed Yassin (religious figure), Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (politician).

Names like Ahmed

Names that sound and feel close to Ahmed: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ahmed with similar names → More names starting with A →