How Many People Are Named Wali?
An estimated 1,159 people in the United States have the first name Wali. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 24 years old, and Wali peaked in popularity in 2016 with 65 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Wali as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, state-by-state birth registrations, and, when available, a 2020 Census snapshot showing who had the name at that point in time. You can also check how many people share the full name Wali paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
1,159
About 1 in 295,733 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
24
years old
Peak Year
2016
65 births
Total Registered
1,192
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Wali
Wali is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 1,192 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Wali as a male name
Ranked #3,314 in 2024
36 male births in 2024
Peak: 2016 (65 births)
Wali in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,213 people with the first name Wali, which placed it at #10,816 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The estimated living count elsewhere on this page is different: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two figures are not expected to match exactly.
Read this section as a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The SSA charts elsewhere on this page are still the better way to see how the name rose, fell, or shifted across generations.
Gender in the 2020 Census
In the 2020 Census, Wali was recorded as predominantly male. Out of 1,213 people with this name in that snapshot, 98.7% were male and 1.3% were female. That is very close to the long-run birth pattern in SSA records, where the name is male 100.0% of the time.
Census Count
1,213
people with this name
Census Rank
#10,816
among Census first names
Frequency Rate
0.40
per 100,000 people
Recorded Race and Hispanic Origin in the 2020 Census
In the 2020 Census, the first name Wali was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Asian and Pacific Islander (47.73%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (37.26%) and Two or More Races (6.84%).
These percentages describe the people who had the first name Wali in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.
2020 Census demographic breakdown
Each row shows a recorded Census category for people with the first name Wali.
| Group | Share | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 47.73% | 579 |
| Black | 37.26% | 452 |
| Two or More Races | 6.84% | 83 |
| White | 6.02% | 73 |
| Hispanic | 1.57% | 19 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.58% | 7 |
Wali: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Wali span from the 1950s to the 2020s, covering 8 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 350 babies were registered. While Wali is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Wali by Decade
How has Wali tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Wali by State
Birth registrations for Wali span all 7 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New Jersey, New York, Texas. The lowest are in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia. On average, about 44 Walis were registered per state.
Wali + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Wali as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Wali
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
Wali: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wali?
We estimate approximately 1,159 people named Wali are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 295,733 Americans share this first name.
Is Wali a common name?
Wali is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 91% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 1,192 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Wali most popular?
Wali reached peak popularity in 2016, when 65 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Wali is approximately 24 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
How common was Wali in the 2020 Census?
The 2020 Census recorded 1,213 people with the first name Wali. That placed it at #10,816 in the published Census first-name tables, or 0.40 people per 100,000.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census number is a count of people with the name in 2020. The living estimate is a current model based on SSA birth records and survival rates, so it aims to estimate how many people with the name are alive now.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The popularity chart tracks birth registrations, not people currently alive. It shows how often Wali was given to babies from 1880 through 2024, which is why it is the best tool on the page for seeing long-run naming trends.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Wali?
In the 2020 Census snapshot, Wali was recorded as predominantly male. The published split was 98.7% male and 1.3% female.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Wali?
In the 2020 Census, the first name Wali was most commonly recorded among people who identified as Asian and Pacific Islander (47.73%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (37.26%) and Two or More Races (6.84%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census published separate first-name tables for sex and for race and Hispanic origin. Those totals can differ slightly for the same name, so the page uses them as two related snapshots rather than treating them as perfectly interchangeable counts.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name tables only include names that met the Bureau's publication rules. That means some names on this site will have SSA history but no published Census demographic snapshot.
Is Wali a male name?
Wali is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
Why can Wali have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because a name can build up a large population over many decades. Wali peaked in 2016, and the average living bearer is about 24 years old, so a name can still have millions of living bearers even after it stops feeling current for newborns.
How many Wali Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Wali Smith, Wali Johnson, Wali Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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