Habib
Masculine · “beloved”
Habib is the Arabic word for beloved, and it is one of the most-said words in the language — used between friends, between parents and children, and between strangers being polite.
How old is the name Habib?
Habib first appears in US birth records in 1972 — 53 years ago. The typical Habib alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 900 people named Habib are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Habib most popular?
Habib peaked in 1982, reaching #2709 nationally. Today it ranks #3757, 1,048 places below that high. See the whole 1982 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Habib
Habibi — my beloved — is among the most-used words in spoken Arabic, said to friends, children, taxi drivers and shopkeepers with no particular romantic weight. As a personal name Habib has been used since the early Islamic period, and it is also used in Christian Arab families. It reaches American records with families from the Levant, North Africa, South Asia and West Africa alike.
Meaning
beloved, dear one
From an Arabic root meaning to love; habib is the ordinary term of endearment across the Arab world, and al-Habib is used as a title of the Prophet Muhammad.
Pronouncing Habib
hah-BEEB
Two syllables with the stress on the long second. There is little variation.
Nicknames for Habib
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
- 1972
- Most boys named
- 201939 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2709reached in 1982
- Change vs 2024
- −12.1%29 in 2025, from 33
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.
Habib in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Habib in Arabic — same name
- Habip in Turkish — same name
- Habeeb in Urdu — spelling variant
- Haviv in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Michigan.
Habibs among us
people named Habib are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 58,899 born in 2025 was named Habib
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 Walley test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Habib's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Walley climbed just as high around 1953, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Walley's path sketches the road Habib is walking now.
Habib 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
Where Habib is headed
Habib should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Habib beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Habib in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning of unusual warmth and directness.
- Recognized instantly across the entire Arabic-speaking world.
- Five letters and two syllables, easy to write and to say.
- The word is used as an everyday endearment, which makes introductions slightly odd in Arabic-speaking company.
- Habeeb and Habib are both in use and relatives may prefer different spellings.
- The stress moves to the front in some English mouths.
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What they receive
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Habib
Masculine · #3757 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Habibs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Habib are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Habib in 2025?
- Habib ranks #3757 among US boy names in 2025, with 29 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Habib?
- About 1 in every 58,899 US boys born in 2025 was named Habib — 29 in all.
- Will my child share the name Habib with classmates?
- Habib will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Habib
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stanton#3757 · Reymundo#3757 · Greer#3757 · Zaven#3757 · Kelson#3757 · Javin#3757 · Faizan#3757 · Wilfred#3757
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Habib? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Habib and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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