Imran
A masculine Arabic name meaning "prosperous" or "high" in rank.
Name Census estimates that about 4,255 living Americans carry the first name Imran. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Imran today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Imran births was 2023 (241 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Imran. 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 Imran with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Imran is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.3K
~ 1 in 80,553 Americans
Peak year
2023
241 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#972
Tracked since 1970
Census
Imran in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,016 people with the first name Imran, which placed it at #3,452 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
#3,452
National first-name rank
People counted
6.0K
6,016 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
63.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Imran
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Imran is Asian/Pacific Islander at 63.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and White (11.1%). 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 Imran 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 Imran at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander63.8% · 3,841
- Black or African American17.5% · 1,053
- White11.1% · 666
- Two or more races5.5% · 328
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 97
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 31
Popularity
Imran: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Imran from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,626 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Imran remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Imran 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 Imran during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Imrans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. New York, California, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Imran, while Kentucky, Arizona, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 130 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Imran
The name Imran is of Arabic origin and is derived from the root word "amr" which means "prosperous" or "thriving." It is a masculine name with a rich history and cultural significance, particularly in the Islamic tradition.
The name Imran is mentioned in the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, as the father of Mary and the grandfather of Jesus. He is revered as a prophet in Islamic tradition and is associated with the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Imran can be found in the Quran, where it is mentioned in Surah Al-Imran (Chapter 3), which is named after the father of Mary. This chapter narrates the story of Mary's conception and birth, as well as the birth of Jesus.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Imran. One of the most famous is Imran Khan, the former cricketer and current Prime Minister of Pakistan, born in 1952. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of all time and has also been involved in philanthropic efforts and political activism.
Another prominent figure with the name Imran is Imran Tahir, a South African cricketer born in 1979, who has represented South Africa in international cricket and is known for his exceptional spin bowling skills.
Imran Sherwani, an Indian actor and film producer born in 1942, has also carried the name with distinction. He has appeared in numerous Bollywood films and has made significant contributions to the Indian entertainment industry.
In the realm of literature, Imran Hussain, a British writer and novelist born in 1985, has gained recognition for his works exploring themes of identity, migration, and cultural diversity.
Imran Qureshi, a Pakistani artist born in 1972, is renowned for his intricate and vibrant miniature paintings, which have been exhibited globally and have earned him numerous accolades in the art world.
The name Imran has a rich and diverse history, spanning various cultures and disciplines, and has been borne by individuals who have made significant contributions to their respective fields.
People
Imran + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Imran 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
Imran: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Imran?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,255 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Imran 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 80,553 US residents.
Is Imran a common name?
We classify Imran as "Rare". It ranks above 96.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,320 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Imran most popular?
The single biggest year for Imran was 2023, when 241 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Imran is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Imran in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,016 people with the name Imran, or 1.99 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,452 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 Imran 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 Imran?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Imran appears almost entirely male. Of the 6,017 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Imran?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Imran is Asian/Pacific Islander at 63.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.5%) and White (11.1%). 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 Imran most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Imran in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.8% (3,841 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 Imran in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Imran a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Imran 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 Imran still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Imran 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 Imran 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 have Imran as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Imran on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.