Bintou
Feminine · “daughter”
Bintou is West African and its first element is Arabic: bint means daughter, and it is one of the most-used words in Arabic naming. Across Mali, Senegal, Guinea and the Gambia, Bintou is an ordinary women's name. Its American record is very recent, peaking in 2024 with the growth of West African communities here.
How old is the name Bintou?
Bintou first appears in US birth records in 1994 — 31 years ago. The typical Bintou alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 600 people named Bintou are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bintou most popular?
Bintou peaked in 2024, reaching #4114 nationally. Today it ranks #6116, 2,002 places below that high. See the whole 2024 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From bint to Bintou
The story of Bintou
Islam reached West Africa across the Sahara from the eighth century onwards, and with it came Arabic vocabulary and Arabic names, which the Mande languages adapted to their own sound patterns: Muhammad became Mamadou, Fatima became Fatoumata, bint became Bintou and Binta. These are not corruptions but standard local forms, used on identity documents and in every register. Bintou is common in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal, Ivory Coast and the Gambia. American records show it rising through the 2010s and 2020s as West African migration has grown, particularly to New York, Ohio and Minnesota.
Meaning
daughter
Arabic bint means daughter and is used constantly in Arabic naming — a woman is traditionally identified as bint plus her father's name, exactly as a man is ibn plus his father's. In Mandinka, Bambara and Soninke usage the word became a name in its own right, with the -ou or -u ending that those languages add. The name is often understood as a form of Binta, and both are treated as versions of the same name across the Sahel.
How the name formed
- bint
- Binta
- Bintou
Related forms: Bintou · Binta · Bint · Binta
Pronouncing Bintou
BIN-too
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a long oo at the end — the French-influenced spelling ou is used because most of these countries write with French orthography. English speakers reach it correctly once they know the ou is an oo.
Nicknames for Bintou
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1994
- Most girls named
- 202435 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4114reached in 2024
- Change vs 2024
- −45.7%19 in 2025, from 35
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Bintou in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Bintou in Bambara — same name
- Binta in Wolof — related form
- Bint in Arabic — related form
- Binta in Hausa — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania.
Bintous among us
people named Bintou are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 84,593 born in 2025 was named Bintou
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Rickia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Bintou's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rickia climbed just as high around 1994, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rickia's path sketches the road Bintou is walking now.
Bintou sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Bintou beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Bintou in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is a single ordinary word understood across a very large region.
- It is short and made only of sounds English already has.
- It belongs to a living naming tradition rather than to a fashion.
- The ou is read as in 'out' by English speakers who do not know the French convention.
- Bintou and Binta are both standard and look like errors for each other.
- It is rare in the United States and will be spelled out routinely.
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What they receive
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Bintou
Feminine · #6116 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Bintous are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Bintou are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bintou in 2025?
- Bintou ranks #6116 among US girl names in 2025, with 19 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Bintou?
- About 1 in every 84,593 US girls born in 2025 was named Bintou — 19 in all.
- Will my child share the name Bintou with classmates?
- Bintou will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Bintou
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Alvina#6116 · Mena#6116 · Harvey#6116 · Kellie#6116 · Alden#6116 · Jeanna#6116 · Sammi#6116 · Mamie#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bintou? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Bintou and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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