Nour
Feminine · “light”
Nour is given to both — 2,877 girls and 585 boys since 1880. See Nour as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Nour is light, in Arabic — the word of the Quran's most quoted verse, the one that compares divine light to a lamp in a niche.
How old is the name Nour?
Nour first appears in US birth records in 1981 — 44 years ago. The typical Nour alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 2,900 people named Nour are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nour most popular?
Nour peaked in 2025, reaching #1525 nationally. Today it ranks #1525, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Nour appears on these lists:
- France's favorites still rare in America
- Names ranked #1501–2000: the last of the charted
- Arabic names in American use
- all guides
Works in Arabic families too:
Where it comes from
From nur to Nour
The story of Nour
Nur and its compounds — Nur al-Din, Nura, Nourhan — are long established across the Arabic-speaking world and beyond it in Turkish, Persian and Malay use. Nour is the French-influenced Levantine transliteration, which is why it dominates in Lebanon and North Africa. It appears in American records rising through the 2010s and is in current use.
Meaning
light
From the Arabic nur, 'light'. The word names the Quran's twenty-fourth sura, which contains the Verse of Light comparing God's light to a lamp in a niche of glass. An-Nur is also one of the ninety-nine names of God. The word is ordinary Arabic and the meaning undisputed.
How the name formed
- nur
- Nour
Related forms: نور · Noor · Nur · Nur
Pronouncing Nour
NOOR
One syllable. Nour and Noor are homophones; the ou spelling follows French convention and the oo English.
Nicknames for Nour
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
- 1981
- Most girls named
- 2025139 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1525reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +28.7%139 in 2025, from 108
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.
Nour in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- نور in Arabic — transliteration
- Noor in English — spelling variant
- Nur in Turkish — same name
- Nur in Persian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE. Sources
Nours among us
people named Nour are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 11,563 born in 2025 was named Nour
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 Nadya test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nour's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Nadya climbed just as high around 1999, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Nadya's path sketches the road Nour is walking now.
Nour 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 Nour is headed
Nour 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.
Nour beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nour in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The light meaning is concrete, transparent and undisputed.
- It is used across Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Malay without change of meaning.
- One syllable, clean, and never mispronounced.
- Noor is the commoner spelling in English-speaking countries.
- It is used for both sexes in Arabic and does not signal sex there.
- It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Nour to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Nour
Feminine · #1525 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nours are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,900 people named Nour are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nour in 2025?
- Nour ranks #1525 among US girl names in 2025, with 139 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nour?
- About 1 in every 11,563 US girls born in 2025 was named Nour — 139 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nour with classmates?
- Nour will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nour
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Blessyn#1525 · Anniston#1525 · Eloisa#1525 · Yuri#1525 · Dalila#1525 · Emmalynn#1525 · Brenda#1525 · Symphony#1525
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nour? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nour and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
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; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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