Narek
Masculine
Narek is an Armenian name taken from a place: the village of Narek, and above all from the tenth-century monk of that monastery whose book of prayers is the most-read text in Armenian after the Bible.
How old is the name Narek?
Narek first appears in US birth records in 1990 — 35 years ago. The typical Narek is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 700 people named Narek are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Narek most popular?
Narek peaked in 2021, reaching #2918 nationally. Today it ranks #3658, 740 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Narek
Ours, offered as ours. Grigor Narekatsi wrote ninety-five long prayers at the monastery of Narek around the year 1000, and Armenians have kept the book ever since — placed under a pillow in illness, read at deathbeds, copied by hand for centuries. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 2015. The name Narek comes from his monastery rather than from a word, which means it carries a book and a place rather than a meaning, and that is a great deal.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The village name's own derivation is not established. The given name comes from the place through Grigor Narekatsi, Gregory of Narek, rather than from any meaning; his Book of Lamentations has been copied, carried and read in Armenian households for a thousand years.
Pronouncing Narek
nah-REK
Two syllables with the stress on the second. English speakers often say NAR-ek.
Nicknames for Narek
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
- 1990
- Most boys named
- 202142 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2918reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- +20.0%30 in 2025, from 25
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.
Narek in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Նարեկ in Armenian — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Nareks among us
people named Narek are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 56,936 born in 2025 was named Narek
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 Corydon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Narek's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Corydon climbed just as high around 1946, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Corydon's path sketches the road Narek is walking now.
Narek 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 Narek is headed
Narek 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.
Narek beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Narek in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented and genuinely remarkable literary history behind it.
- Five letters and two syllables, easy to write and to say.
- Very widely used in Armenia, so it has a real community that knows it exactly.
- The stress moves to the front in English mouths.
- Outside the Armenian community it needs explaining every time.
- There is no meaning as such, only a place and a book.
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Narek
Masculine · #3658 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nareks 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 Narek are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Narek in 2025?
- Narek ranks #3658 among US boy names in 2025, with 30 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Narek?
- About 1 in every 56,936 US boys born in 2025 was named Narek — 30 in all.
- Will my child share the name Narek with classmates?
- Narek will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Narek
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jimmie#3658 · Mckinley#3658 · Menno#3658 · Claudio#3658 · Ezekial#3658 · Brandt#3658 · Benuel#3658 · Gustav#3658
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Narek? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Narek and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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