Murad
Masculine · “desire”
Murad is Arabic for what is wanted — the thing intended, the object of a wish. It is one of a group of names that describe a desire rather than a quality, and it was carried by several Ottoman sultans, which spread it across three continents.
How old is the name Murad?
Murad first appears in US birth records in 1971 — 54 years ago. The typical Murad alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 1,100 people named Murad are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Murad most popular?
Murad peaked in 1977, reaching #2270 nationally. Today it ranks #2798, 528 places below that high. See the whole 1977 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From murad to Murad
The story of Murad
The word is ordinary Arabic and became a name across the Arabic-speaking world, but it was the Ottomans who made it famous: several sultans carried it between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, which put it into Turkish, Balkan, Caucasian and Central Asian use alongside Arabic. It is common today in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Egypt and Pakistan, and it reaches United States records from all of them. In Turkish the vowels are shorter and the name is Murat, with a t, which is the same name in Turkish spelling.
Meaning
desire; what is wished for
Arabic murad is a passive participle from arada, 'to want, to intend' — so it means the thing that is desired rather than the desire itself. In Sufi usage it also carries a specific sense: the murad is the disciple whom God has drawn, as against the murid, the one who seeks. The reading is documented and undisputed.
How the name formed
- murad
- Murad
Related forms: Murad · Murat · Murad · Murad
Pronouncing Murad
moo-RAHD
Two syllables with the stress on the second and a long oo at the front. Turkish says moo-RAT, with a hard t at the end. English speakers often say MYOOR-ad, which changes both vowels.
Nicknames for Murad
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
- 1971
- Most boys named
- 201656 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2270reached in 1977
- Change vs 2024
- +7.1%45 in 2025, from 42
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.
Murad in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Murad in Arabic — transliteration
- Murat in Turkish — spelling variant
- Murad in Azerbaijani — same name
- Murad in Urdu — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Florida.
Murads among us
people named Murad are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 37,957 born in 2025 was named Murad
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 Filemon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Murad's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Filemon climbed just as high around 1928, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Filemon's path sketches the road Murad is walking now.
Murad 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 Murad is headed
Murad 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.
Murad beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Murad in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A clear documented meaning recognized across Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Urdu.
- Five letters, no silent ones, and readable at first sight in English.
- Used across an unusually wide geography, so it rarely needs introducing.
- English speakers reach for MYOOR-ad on first sight until corrected.
- Murad and Murat are the same name in two spellings and look unrelated on paper.
- It sits close to the English 'moored', which will be heard occasionally.
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What they receive
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Murad
Masculine · #2798 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Murads are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Murad are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Murad in 2025?
- Murad ranks #2798 among US boy names in 2025, with 45 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Murad?
- About 1 in every 37,957 US boys born in 2025 was named Murad — 45 in all.
- Will my child share the name Murad with classmates?
- Murad will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Murad
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Chayce#2798 · Jaiceon#2798 · Hutson#2798 · Rickey#2798 · Nicodemus#2798 · Hamzah#2798 · Amor#2798 · Kayde#2798
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Murad? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Murad and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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