Ilir
An Albanian name meaning "spring" or "glimmer".
Name Census estimates that about 151 living Americans carry the first name Ilir. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ilir today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ilir births was 1991 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ilir. 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 Ilir with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
151
~ 1 in 2,269,896 Americans
Peak year
1991
10 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,253
Tracked since 1977
Census
Ilir in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 890 people with the first name Ilir, which placed it at #13,530 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,530
National first-name rank
People counted
890
890 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
97.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ilir
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ilir is White at 97.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Black (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Ilir described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Ilir at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.6% · 869
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 12
- Black or African American0.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 2
- Two or more races0.2% · 2
Popularity
Ilir: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ilir from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 70 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ilir 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 Ilir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ilirs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ilir
The name Ilir is derived from the Albanian language and it is believed to have originated in the region of modern-day Albania and Kosovo. Its origins can be traced back to the late Middle Ages or the early modern period, around the 15th to 17th centuries.
One of the earliest known uses of the name Ilir can be found in the writings of Albanian Renaissance writers and scholars, such as Pjetër Bogdani (1630-1689) and Pjetër Budi (1566-1622), who were instrumental in the development of the Albanian language and literature. It is possible that the name was inspired by the ancient Illyrian tribes that inhabited the Balkan region in ancient times.
The name Ilir has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Ilir Spata (1784-1857), an Albanian writer, scholar, and patriot who played a significant role in the Albanian National Awakening movement during the 19th century.
Another prominent figure was Ilir Qori (1838-1907), an Albanian writer, poet, and translator who contributed greatly to the development of modern Albanian literature. His works were influential in shaping the cultural and linguistic identity of the Albanian people.
In the 20th century, Ilir Mustaqi (1917-1971) was a celebrated Albanian actor and director who left a lasting impact on the Albanian theater scene. His performances and contributions to the arts were widely recognized and celebrated within the country.
Moving into contemporary times, Ilir Meta (born in 1969) is a notable political figure who served as the President of Albania from 2017 to 2022. His political career has spanned several decades and he has held various high-ranking positions within the Albanian government.
Lastly, Ilir Shaqiri (born in 1993) is a professional football player who has represented the Albanian national team and played for several clubs in Europe, including Bayern Munich and Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the most talented Albanian footballers of his generation.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Ilir throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence and significance within the Albanian cultural and historical context.
People
Ilir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ilir as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ilir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ilir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 151 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ilir 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 2,269,896 US residents.
Is Ilir a common name?
We classify Ilir as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 155 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ilir most popular?
The single biggest year for Ilir was 1991, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ilir is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ilir in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 890 people with the name Ilir, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,530 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Ilir in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Ilir?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ilir appears almost entirely male. Of the 889 people counted with this name, 99.2% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Ilir?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ilir is White at 97.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.3%) and Black (0.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Ilir most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ilir in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.6% (869 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Ilir in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ilir a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ilir 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 Ilir still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ilir 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 Ilir 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.
How many people are called Ilir?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.