Pari
Feminine · “fairy”
Pari is a fairy, but not the small kind. The pari of Persian story is a winged being of great beauty who moves between worlds, sometimes helpful and sometimes not, and the word has been in the language since before Islam reached Iran. It stands alone as a name and opens a whole set of longer ones.
How old is the name Pari?
Pari first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Pari alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 800 people named Pari are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Pari most popular?
Pari peaked in 2014, reaching #3549 nationally. Today it ranks #4878, 1,329 places below that high. See the whole 2014 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From pari to Pari
The story of Pari
Pari names run through Persian literature and through the everyday naming of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: Parisa, like a fairy; Parivash, of fairy face; Parinaz, fairy grace. The bare word Pari is used on its own too, and it also serves as the short form of all the longer ones. Urdu borrowed it entirely, and in South Asia pari is an ordinary word of endearment for a small girl. It came to American records with Iranian and South Asian families.
Meaning
fairy; winged spirit
Persian pari, a fairy or winged spirit, from an older Iranian word that in Zoroastrian texts named a rather more dangerous kind of being. The sense softened over time, and the name carries the later, warmer one.
How the name formed
- pari
- Pari
Related forms: پری · Pari · Peri
Pronouncing Pari
PAH-ree
Two syllables, stress in front, the first vowel open as in father. English speakers sometimes say PAIR-ee, which is a noticeably different sound.
Nicknames for Pari
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
- 1960
- Most girls named
- 201444 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3549reached in 2014
- Change vs 2024
- +58.8%27 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.
Pari in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- پری in Persian — transliteration
- Pari in Urdu — same name
- Peri in Turkish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New Jersey.
Paris among us
people named Pari are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 59,528 born in 2025 was named Pari
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 Gemini test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Pari's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Gemini climbed just as high around 1965, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Gemini's path sketches the road Pari is walking now.
Pari 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 Pari is headed
Pari 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.
Pari beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Pari in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters and two open syllables: as easy as a name can be in any language.
- The meaning is a single image and a much-loved one across Iran and South Asia.
- It works as a short form for a whole family of longer Persian names.
- English readers see the French city inside it and reach for that pronunciation.
- It is short enough to offer nothing to shorten and no formal register.
- Perry and Pari are near-homophones in some American accents, which causes confusion.
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What they receive
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Pari
Feminine · #4878 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Paris are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Pari are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Pari in 2025?
- Pari ranks #4878 among US girl names in 2025, with 27 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Pari?
- About 1 in every 59,528 US girls born in 2025 was named Pari — 27 in all.
- Will my child share the name Pari with classmates?
- Pari will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Pari
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Maribelle#4878 · Evangelia#4878 · Zoraya#4878 · Saba#4878 · Chyna#4878 · Odyssey#4878 · Kamry#4878 · Zana#4878
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Pari? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Pari 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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