Inanna
An ancient Sumerian name for the goddess of love, fertility, and war.
Name Census estimates that about 141 living Americans carry the first name Inanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Inanna today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Inanna births was 2020 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Inanna. 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 Inanna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
141
~ 1 in 2,430,882 Americans
Peak year
2020
16 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,801
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Inanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Inanna from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 63 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
Inanna 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 Inanna 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 Inanna
Inanna is a Sumerian name dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, around 3500-2000 BCE. It is derived from the Sumerian words "nin" meaning "lady" and "an" meaning "heaven" or "sky", thus signifying "Lady of Heaven". Inanna was the name of the Sumerian goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, and warfare.
The earliest known references to Inanna are found in Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions and clay tablets from the third millennium BCE. She was one of the most widely venerated deities in ancient Mesopotamia, with temples and worship centers dedicated to her across the region. The Sumerian myths and hymns describe Inanna as a powerful and complex figure, associated with both love and conflict.
One of the earliest known historical figures named Inanna was a Sumerian priestess who lived around 2300 BCE. She is mentioned in several cuneiform inscriptions as serving in the temple of Inanna in the city of Uruk.
In later Babylonian mythology, Inanna became syncretized with the Semitic goddess Ishtar, retaining many of her characteristics and attributes. This fusion of Sumerian and Semitic traditions helped to perpetuate the name and its significance across the ancient Near East.
Another notable figure named Inanna was a Sumerian princess who lived around 2100 BCE. She was the daughter of the ruler of the city-state of Lagash and is mentioned in several inscriptions detailing her dowry and marriage arrangements.
During the Akkadian Empire (c. 2350-2150 BCE), a woman named Inanna is recorded as a high priestess in the city of Sippar, where she served in the temple of the sun god Shamash.
In the Neo-Assyrian period (934-609 BCE), an Assyrian woman named Inanna is mentioned in several administrative records as a landowner and influential figure in the city of Assur.
While the name Inanna has its roots in ancient Mesopotamia, it has continued to be used sporadically throughout history, particularly in regions influenced by Sumerian and Babylonian cultures. However, it is primarily known for its strong mythological and historical associations with the Sumerian goddess of love and warfare.
People
Inanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Inanna 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
Inanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Inanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 141 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Inanna 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 2,430,882 US residents.
Is Inanna a common name?
We classify Inanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Inanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Inanna was 2020, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Inanna is about 11 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 Inanna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Inanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Inanna 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.
Is Inanna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Inanna 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 Inanna 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 have the name Inanna?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Inanna on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.