Iran
Masculine · “Persian "land of the Aryans”
Iran is given to both — 1,359 boys and 416 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Iran means the land of the Aryans, and the country adopted that name officially only in 1935 — before which the West called it Persia. The word is far older than the decision: Ērān appears in Sasanian inscriptions of the third century, so the 1935 change restored a native name rather than inventing one.
How old is the name Iran?
Iran first appears in US birth records in 1921 — 104 years ago. The typical Iran alive today was born around 1986, making them about 39 years old. About 1,200 people named Iran are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Iran most popular?
Iran peaked in 1972, reaching #1566 nationally. Today it ranks #7194, 5,628 places below that high. See the whole 1972 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From arya to Iran
The story of Iran
Reza Shah asked foreign governments in 1935 to use Iran rather than Persia, on the grounds that Persia named only one province, Fars, while Iran named the whole country and always had. The American given-name figures peak in 1972, before the revolution, and reflect Iranian immigration and, in some cases, families outside Iran choosing a country name as a statement — the same impulse behind Italo and America. The name is not a common personal name inside Iran itself.
Meaning
Persian "land of the Aryans"
From Middle Persian Ērān, a genitive plural of Ēr, from Old Iranian arya, a self-designation of the Indo-Iranian peoples meaning something like noble or one of us. The same word underlies the Sanskrit ārya. The nineteenth- and twentieth-century European racial theories that attached themselves to the word Aryan are a later misuse and have nothing to do with the country's name.
How the name formed
- arya
- Ērān
- Iran
Related forms: ایران · Ērān
Pronouncing Iran
ee-RAHN
Two syllables with the stress on the second and both vowels long — ee-RAHN. American English commonly says ih-RAN with short vowels, which is the pronunciation the country's own diplomats have spent decades correcting.
Nicknames for Iran
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
- 1921
- Most boys named
- 197836 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1566reached in 1972
- Change vs 2023
- +10.0%11 in 2025, from 10
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.
Iran in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- ایران in Persian — same name
- Ērān in Middle Persian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Irans among us
people named Iran are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 155,280 born in 2025 was named Iran
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 Doroteo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Iran's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Doroteo climbed just as high around 1929, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Doroteo's path sketches the road Iran is walking now.
Iran 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
Iran beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Iran in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The etymology is settled and reaches back to the third century in written record.
- It is short, two syllables, and easy to say correctly once heard.
- It carries a specific and ancient national identity.
- American speakers pronounce it with short vowels, which native speakers hear as wrong.
- A country name carries whatever politics attach to that country at any moment.
- It is not commonly used as a personal name in Iran itself.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Iran
Masculine · #7194 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Irans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Iran are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Iran in 2025?
- Iran ranks #7194 among US boy names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Iran?
- About 1 in every 155,280 US boys born in 2025 was named Iran — 11 in all.
- Will my child share the name Iran with classmates?
- Iran will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Iran
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Junius#7194 · Orie#7194 · Shade#7194 · Chesley#7194 · Joesph#7194 · Lofton#7194 · Macon#7194 · Benjiman#7194
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Iran? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Iran and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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