Timur
Masculine · “iron”
Timur is iron in Turkic — and Timur the Lame, whom Europe called Tamerlane, built an empire from Delhi to Anatolia.
How old is the name Timur?
Timur first appears in US birth records in 1969 — 56 years ago. The typical Timur is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,000 people named Timur are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Timur most popular?
Timur peaked in 2017, reaching #2186 nationally. Today it ranks #2604, 418 places below that high. See the whole 2017 chart.
Timur appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From temir to Timur
The story of Timur
Timur was lamed by an arrow in his youth and his enemies called him Timur the Lame, which Europe heard as Tamerlane; he conquered from Delhi to Damascus and died setting out for China. His skeleton, exhumed in 1941, confirmed the injuries. The name is standard across Turkic naming and is in current American use.
Meaning
iron
From the Turkic temir or timur, 'iron'. The same word gives the Mongol Temüjin, Genghis Khan's birth name, from a related root. Timur-i Lang, 'Timur the Lame', became Tamerlane in European sources. The Turkic is documented.
How the name formed
- temir
- Timur
Related forms: Timur · Тимур · Tamerlane
Pronouncing Timur
tee-MOOR
Two syllables, stress on the second. Turkish and Russian say it much the same way.
Nicknames for Timur
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
- 201761 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2186reached in 2017
- Change vs 2024
- −2.0%50 in 2025, from 51
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.
Timur in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Timur in Turkish — same name
- Тимур in Russian — transliteration
- Tamerlane in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, New York, California.
Timurs among us
people named Timur are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 34,162 born in 2025 was named Timur
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 Tomy test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Timur's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tomy climbed just as high around 1926, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tomy's path sketches the road Timur is walking now.
Timur 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 Timur is headed
Timur 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.
Timur beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Timur in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That his exhumed skeleton confirmed the lameness is a first-rate fact.
- The iron meaning is concrete and strong.
- Tim is available as a short form with a large record.
- The historical bearer's conquests were exceptionally destructive.
- It reads as specifically Turkic or Central Asian.
- Timur and Tamerlane look unrelated.
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What they receive
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Timur
Masculine · #2604 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Timurs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Timur are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Timur in 2025?
- Timur ranks #2604 among US boy names in 2025, with 50 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Timur?
- About 1 in every 34,162 US boys born in 2025 was named Timur — 50 in all.
- Will my child share the name Timur with classmates?
- Timur will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Timur
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Yahia#2604 · Larson#2604 · Mazin#2604 · Rowe#2604 · Hendrik#2604 · Dayvon#2604 · Kipton#2604 · Finlay#2604
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Timur? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Timur and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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