Irfan
Masculine · “knowledge”
Irfan is the Arabic word for knowledge of a specific kind: not information but the knowing that comes from direct experience, which is the term Islamic mysticism uses for its whole subject.
How old is the name Irfan?
Irfan first appears in US birth records in 1969 — 56 years ago. The typical Irfan alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 700 people named Irfan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Irfan most popular?
Irfan peaked in 1981, reaching #3030 nationally. Today it ranks #3757, 727 places below that high. See the whole 1981 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Irfan
Arabic distinguishes two kinds of knowing — ilm, which is learned, and irfan, which is recognized — and the second is the word Persian and Urdu writing uses for the mystical tradition. It became a personal name in Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and among Muslim families in India, and it reaches American records from all of them. In Bosnia it is also well used.
Meaning
knowledge, gnosis
From an Arabic root meaning to know or recognize; irfan names experiential or mystical knowledge as distinct from ilm, learned knowledge, and the distinction is a real one in Islamic thought.
Pronouncing Irfan
ir-FAHN
Two syllables with the stress on the second. English speakers often say IR-fan.
Nicknames for Irfan
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
- 1969
- Most boys named
- 202529 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3030reached in 1981
- Change vs 2024
- +70.6%29 in 2025, from 17
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.
Irfan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Irfan in Arabic — same name
- İrfan in Turkish — same name
- Irfan in Urdu — same name
- Irfan in Bosnian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York.
Irfans among us
people named Irfan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 58,899 born in 2025 was named Irfan
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 Ki test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Irfan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ki climbed just as high around 1958, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ki's path sketches the road Irfan is walking now.
Irfan 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 Irfan is headed
Irfan should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Irfan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Irfan 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 interesting philosophical distinction behind it.
- Five letters and two syllables, easy to write and to say.
- Recognized across Turkey, Iran, South Asia and the Balkans.
- The stress moves to the front in English mouths.
- It is close to Irvan and Erfan, which are separate spellings and names.
- The distinction it names is invisible to anyone outside the tradition.
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Irfan
Masculine · #3757 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Irfans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Irfan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Irfan in 2025?
- Irfan ranks #3757 among US boy names in 2025, with 29 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Irfan?
- About 1 in every 58,899 US boys born in 2025 was named Irfan — 29 in all.
- Will my child share the name Irfan with classmates?
- Irfan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Irfan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stanton#3757 · Reymundo#3757 · Greer#3757 · Zaven#3757 · Kelson#3757 · Javin#3757 · Faizan#3757 · Wilfred#3757
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Irfan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Irfan 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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