Anir
A masculine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "wind" or "air".
Name Census estimates that about 121 living Americans carry the first name Anir. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Anir today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anir births was 2022 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anir. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Anir with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
121
~ 1 in 2,832,680 Americans
Peak year
2022
22 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,056
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Anir: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anir from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 69 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anir by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Anir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Anir
The name Anir is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages spoken in ancient India. The name is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "anir," which means "wind" or "breath." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who were perceived to possess a strong or energetic spirit.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Anir can be found in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, there is a character named Anir, who was a skilled archer and warrior. The Mahabharata is dated to around the 8th or 9th century BCE, indicating that the name has been in use for over two millennia.
In the 5th century BCE, there was a renowned Indian philosopher and grammarian named Anir, who is credited with developing the Ashtadhyayi, a foundational text on the rules of Sanskrit grammar. His work had a significant impact on the study and preservation of the Sanskrit language.
During the Gupta Empire, which ruled over large parts of the Indian subcontinent from the 4th to the 6th century CE, there was a king named Anir Gupta. He was known for his patronage of the arts and his efforts to promote cultural activities during his reign.
In the 12th century, an Indian mathematician and astronomer named Anir Bhatta made important contributions to the field of mathematics. He is particularly known for his work on the concept of infinite series and his contributions to the development of calculus.
Another notable figure named Anir was a 16th-century Indian poet and composer who lived during the reign of the Mughal Empire. He is renowned for his devotional poetry and compositions, which were widely appreciated and have been preserved over the centuries.
While the name Anir has its roots in ancient India, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and regions over time. However, it remains closely associated with its Sanskrit origins and the rich cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent.
People
Anir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anir as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Anir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 121 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anir going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,832,680 US residents.
Is Anir a common name?
We classify Anir as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 122 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anir most popular?
The single biggest year for Anir was 2022, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anir is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Anir in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anir a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anir in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Anir still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anir in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Anir can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Anir?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.