Iman
Masculine · “faith”
Iman is given to both — 1,485 boys and 5,124 girls since 1880. See Iman as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Iman is faith in Arabic — and specifically the inward assent that the tradition distinguishes from islam, the outward act of submission.
How old is the name Iman?
Iman first appears in US birth records in 1972 — 53 years ago. The typical Iman alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 1,500 people named Iman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Iman most popular?
Iman peaked in 2025, reaching #1793 nationally. Today it ranks #1793, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From a-m-n to Iman
The story of Iman
The distinction between iman and islam is drawn in a Quranic verse and in a famous hadith, and is one of the foundational categories of Islamic thought. Iman is used for both sexes across the Muslim world. Arab and South Asian emigration brought it to America, where it appears in the registers in current use.
Meaning
faith, belief
From the Arabic iman, 'faith' or 'belief', from the root a-m-n, which also gives amin, 'trustworthy', and the amen said after prayer. Islamic theology distinguishes iman, inward belief, from islam, outward submission. The word is ordinary Arabic and the meaning undisputed.
How the name formed
- a-m-n
- iman
- Iman
Related forms: إيمان · İman · Iman
Pronouncing Iman
ee-MAHN
Two syllables, stress on the second. Arabic gives the first vowel a longer hold than English does.
Nicknames for Iman
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
- 202589 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1793reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +6.0%89 in 2025, from 84
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.
Iman in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- إيمان in Arabic — transliteration
- İman in Turkish — same name
- Iman in Urdu — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, New York.
Imans among us
people named Iman are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 19,192 born in 2025 was named Iman
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Iman
- #1793
- Iman on the 2025 chart
- #822
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Iman went to 89 boys in 2025, but Imaan is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 106, which makes it the 822nd most-given boys’ name of the year — 971 places above the chart.
- Iman89
- Imaan17
About 1 boy in 16,114 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 19,192 for Iman 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
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jonnathan test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Iman's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jonnathan climbed just as high around 1987, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jonnathan's path sketches the road Iman is walking now.
Iman is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Iman is headed
Iman 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.
Iman beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Iman in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The faith meaning is transparent, undisputed and theologically precise.
- The shared root with 'amen' is a genuinely good connection.
- The end stress gives it a strong rhythm against a front-stressed surname.
- It is thoroughly unisex in Arabic and reads as feminine to many Americans.
- A well-known Somali-American model carries it.
- It reads as specifically Muslim.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Iman
Masculine · #1793 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Imans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Iman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Iman?
- Iman is the most-used spelling in US records — 89 of the 106 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Imaan.
- How popular is the name Iman in 2025?
- Iman ranks #1793 among US boy names in 2025, with 89 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Iman?
- About 1 in every 19,192 US boys born in 2025 was named Iman — 89 in all.
- Will my child share the name Iman with classmates?
- Iman will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Iman
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rico#1793 · Auden#1793 · Kodi#1793 · Klayton#1793 · Asael#1793 · Donnie#1793 · Valentine#1793 · Romari#1793
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Iman? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Iman and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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