Ashyr
A Persian masculine name meaning "noble" or "superior".
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the first name Ashyr. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ashyr today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ashyr births was 2018 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ashyr. 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.
People living today
149
~ 1 in 2,300,365 Americans
Peak year
2018
19 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,469
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Ashyr: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ashyr from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 108 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ashyr remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ashyr 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 Ashyr 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 Ashyr
The name Ashyr finds its origins in the ancient Persian language, with roots dating back to the era of the Achaemenid Empire (550 BC–330 BC). It is derived from the Old Persian word "Ašavā," which means "truth" or "righteous." The name was prevalent among the nobility and aristocracy of ancient Persia, reflecting the high regard for virtues such as honesty and moral uprightness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ashyr can be found in the Behistun Inscription, a monumental rock relief commissioned by Darius the Great in the 5th century BC. This inscription, carved into the Behistun mountain in present-day Iran, mentions an individual named Ashyr who served as a member of the royal court.
The name Ashyr also holds significance in the Zoroastrian faith, which originated in ancient Persia. In the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, the name is used to refer to individuals who upheld the principles of "Asha," or cosmic order and righteousness.
During the Sassanid Empire (224–651 AD), the name Ashyr gained further popularity among the Persian elite. One notable figure bearing this name was Ashyr ibn Nasr, a renowned scholar and poet who lived in the 7th century AD and served as a court advisor to the Sassanid king Yazdegerd III.
In the Islamic period, the name Ashyr continued to be used, although its spelling and pronunciation may have evolved slightly. One prominent individual with this name was Ashyr al-Din al-Abhari, a renowned Persian philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 13th century AD and made significant contributions to the fields of logic and astronomy.
Another historical figure bearing the name Ashyr was Ashyr al-Din al-Tusi, a renowned Persian polymath who lived in the 13th century AD. He was a prolific writer and scholar, making contributions to various fields including mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and theology.
In more recent times, the name Ashyr has been carried by notable individuals such as Ashyr Khan, a prominent Afghan military commander who played a significant role in the Anglo-Afghan Wars of the 19th century, and Ashyr Qadiri, an influential Sufi mystic and poet from Afghanistan who lived in the 16th century.
People
Ashyr + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ashyr 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
Ashyr: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ashyr?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ashyr 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 2,300,365 US residents.
Is Ashyr a common name?
We classify Ashyr as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 150 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ashyr most popular?
The single biggest year for Ashyr was 2018, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ashyr is about 10 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 Ashyr in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ashyr a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ashyr 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 Ashyr still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ashyr 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 Ashyr 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 share the name Ashyr?
Want to know how many people have the name Ashyr? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.