Hisham
Masculine · “generous”
Hisham is an Arabic name about generosity, and the image behind it is domestic — breaking bread to make a broth for guests.
How old is the name Hisham?
Hisham first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Hisham alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 900 people named Hisham are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hisham most popular?
Hisham peaked in 2016, reaching #2993 nationally. Today it ranks #4249, 1,256 places below that high. See the whole 2016 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From hashama to Hisham
The story of Hisham
Hashim, the Prophet's great-grandfather, is said to have been given that name for breaking bread into broth to feed pilgrims at Mecca — the Banu Hashim take their name from him. Hisham is the related form and was borne by an Umayyad caliph and by rulers of Islamic Spain. It is used across the Arab world and reaches American records with families from Egypt and the Levant.
Meaning
generous, one who breaks bread
From an Arabic root meaning to crush or break; the name is traditionally explained as one who breaks bread to make tharid, a broth for guests, which was the standard image of hospitality in pre-Islamic Arabia.
How the name formed
- hashama
- Hisham
Related forms: Hisham · Hişam · Hisham
Pronouncing Hisham
hi-SHAAM
Two syllables with the stress on the long second. English speakers often say HISH-am.
Nicknames for Hisham
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
- 1970
- Most boys named
- 202031 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2993reached in 2016
- Change vs 2024
- −14.3%24 in 2025, from 28
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.
Hisham in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Hisham in Arabic — same name
- Hişam in Turkish — same name
- Hisham in Urdu — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Florida.
Hishams among us
people named Hisham are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 71,170 born in 2025 was named Hisham
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 Aly test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Hisham's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Aly climbed just as high around 2000, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Aly's path sketches the road Hisham is walking now.
Hisham 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
Hisham beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Hisham 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 with a genuinely warm and domestic image behind it.
- Six letters and two syllables, easy to write and to say.
- Recognized across the whole Arab world.
- The stress moves to the front in English mouths.
- The Sham clip is an English noun meaning a fake.
- Hisham and Hashim are related but distinct and get confused.
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What they receive
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Hisham
Masculine · #4249 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Hishams 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 Hisham are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hisham in 2025?
- Hisham ranks #4249 among US boy names in 2025, with 24 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Hisham?
- About 1 in every 71,170 US boys born in 2025 was named Hisham — 24 in all.
- Will my child share the name Hisham with classmates?
- Hisham will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Hisham
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Guadalupe#4249 · Denny#4249 · Hughes#4249 · Erling#4249 · Rodrick#4249 · Elric#4249 · Ron#4249 · Wright#4249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hisham? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Hisham and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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