Skip to content
NameBattle
My names

Rahim

Masculine · “merciful”

1967high 2025
#2167 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare66 boys in 2025

Rahim is the merciful in Arabic — and the root behind it is rahm, the womb, so mercy in Arabic is named for a mother's body.

How old is the name Rahim?

Rahim first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Rahim alive today was born around 1999, making them about 26 years old. About 1,800 people named Rahim are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Rahim most popular?

Rahim peaked in 1975, reaching #1322 nationally. Today it ranks #2167, 845 places below that high. See the whole 1975 chart.

Compare this nameMore “R” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Rahim

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim opens all but one sura of the Qur'an, and both divine names come from the word for a womb — mercy conceived as the relation of a mother to what she carries. Hebrew makes the same connection. Rahim is standard across Muslim naming and appears in American records in current use.

Meaning

merciful, compassionate

From the Arabic rahim, 'merciful', from the root r-h-m, which also gives rahm, 'womb'. Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim are the two divine names opening nearly every sura. The Hebrew rachamim, 'compassion', shares the root with rechem, 'womb'. The etymology is documented.

How the name formed

  1. rahm
  2. rahim
  3. Rahim

Related forms: رحيم · Rahim · Rahim

Pronouncing Rahim

rah-HEEM

Two syllables, stress on the second. Arabic gives the h a deep throat sound English lacks.

Nicknames for Rahim

Moderate

RahThe front sound alone, used inside families rather than generally
HeemThe back of the name, used inside families rather than generally
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

BOYS NAMED · 1967–2025663306619672025

US babies named Rahim per year from 1967 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#13221960s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1967
Most boys named
202566 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#1322reached in 1975
Change vs 2024
+57.1%66 in 2025, from 42
Rahim sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 2025, with 66 boys. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

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.

Rahim in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • رحيم in Arabic — transliteration
  • Rahim in Urdu — same name
  • Rahim in Turkish — same name

Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Texas, Virginia.

Rahims among us

1,800

people named Rahim are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 boy in 25,880 born in 2025 was named Rahim

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

Spellings of Rahim

#2167
Rahim on the 2025 chart
#850
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Rahim went to 66 boys in 2025, but Raahim is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 78, which makes it the 850th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,317 places above the chart.

  • Rahim66
  • Raahim12

About 1 boy in 21,898 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 25,880 for Rahim itself.

Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method

III

Is it right for you

The Jr test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rahim's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jr climbed just as high around 1927, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jr's path sketches the road Rahim is walking now.

40%chance Rahim will feel dated by 2040
Rahim, aligned on its peakJr· peak 1927not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-10 yrs+70 yrsJr · #3231Rahim today
Rahim today is about where Jr stood in 1977 — 50 years past a #1322-sized peak. By 1992, Jr had settled around #3231.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Rahim 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 Rahim is headed

19672030

US babies named Rahim per year, 1967 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Rahim should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.

Steady-2% by 2030projected around #2,311 in 2030

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.

Rahim beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Rahim in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Rahimthis name66#2167Johnathon66#2167Whitaker66#2167Sir66#2167Iver66#2167

US boys given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • That mercy and womb are the same root in both Arabic and Hebrew is a first-rate fact.
  • It is one of the two divine names opening nearly every sura.
  • The end stress gives it a strong rhythm against a front-stressed surname.
What to consider
  • The Arabic h is not reproducible in English.
  • It reads as specifically Muslim.
  • Rahim and Raheem are both in circulation.

Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Rahim to the vote.

Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.

Start a family voteSwipe together

Only the people you invite can see your list.

Already decided on Rahim? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.

Or just send this page to someone:

WhatsAppPinterestFacebook

What they receive

Someone added a name to your list

Rahim

Masculine · #2167 in the U.S.

♥ Love itNot for meLet’s talk about it
Add a note — what do you like about it?
Your shared list is empty. Rahim would be the first name on it.

Frequently asked

How many Rahims are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,800 people named Rahim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Rahim?
Rahim is the most-used spelling in US records — 66 of the 78 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Raahim.
How popular is the name Rahim in 2025?
Rahim ranks #2167 among US boy names in 2025, with 66 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Rahim?
About 1 in every 25,880 US boys born in 2025 was named Rahim — 66 in all.
Will my child share the name Rahim with classmates?
Rahim will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Rahim

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Johnathon#2167 · Whitaker#2167 · Sir#2167 · Iver#2167 · Binyomin#2167 · June#2167 · Sylus#2167 · Koby#2167

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rahim? See the current top 100.

Choosing between Rahim and another name?

See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.

Compare side by side

In a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.

Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.

Cast your vote

Which one would you pick?

Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.

US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle