Inah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "attentive, concerned, devoted".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Inah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Inah today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Inah births was 2008 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Inah. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Inah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2008
6 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2008 SSA rank
#16,158
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Inah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Inah from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 6 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
Inah 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 Inah 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 Inah
The name Inah is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, spoken in ancient India. It is thought to be derived from the word "ina," which means "woman" or "lady." This suggests that the name was initially used to describe a female individual.
In Hindu mythology, Inah was the name of a minor goddess associated with fertility and childbirth. She was often depicted as a young woman holding a baby, symbolizing her role as a protector of mothers and newborns. While not a major deity, her name carried significance in certain regions of the Indian subcontinent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Inah can be found in the ancient Sanskrit text, the Mahabharata, which dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this epic, Inah is mentioned as the name of a female character, though her role is relatively minor.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Inah. One of the earliest was Inah al-Kindi (801-873 CE), an Arab philosopher and mathematician who made significant contributions to the fields of optics and cryptography. She was a contemporary of the renowned scholar Al-Khwarizmi and is considered one of the first female scholars in the Islamic Golden Age.
Another prominent figure was Inah Razavi (1533-1585), a Persian poet and mystic from the Safavid dynasty. Her works explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition. She is regarded as one of the most influential female poets of the time and her poems are still widely studied and recited today.
In the 18th century, Inah Narin (1718-1782) was a prominent figure in the Ottoman Empire. She was a skilled calligrapher and illuminator, known for her exquisite manuscript works. Her contributions to the art of calligraphy and book illustration have been celebrated throughout the region.
Moving to more modern times, Inah Meñez (1896-1968) was a Filipino activist and writer who played a significant role in the country's independence movement. She used her literary works to raise awareness about social injustices and advocate for women's rights.
In the field of science, Inah Karam (1917-2008) was a pioneering Lebanese physicist and educator. She was one of the first women in the Middle East to earn a doctorate in physics and contributed significantly to the advancement of science education in Lebanon.
While these are just a few examples, the name Inah has been used throughout various cultures and time periods, often associated with individuals who made notable contributions to their respective fields or societies.
People
Inah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Inah 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
Inah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Inah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Inah 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Inah a common name?
We classify Inah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Inah most popular?
The single biggest year for Inah was 2008, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Inah is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Inah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Inah in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.