Inarah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "rays of light".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Inarah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Inarah today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Inarah births was 2021 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Inarah. 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 Inarah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
2021
17 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,558
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Inarah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Inarah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 67 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
Inarah 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 Inarah 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 Inarah
The name Inarah is thought to have its origins in the Arabic language. It is a variation of the Arabic name Inara, derived from the word "nur" meaning "light" or "illumination." This name has been in use across the Middle East and parts of North Africa for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Inarah can be found in texts from the 9th century, where it was used to refer to a famous Arab scholar and poet from Baghdad. This scholar, whose full name was Inarah bint al-Husayn, was renowned for her contributions to Arabic literature and her mastery of the Arabic language.
In the 12th century, the name Inarah was also associated with a prominent Sufi mystic and teacher, Inarah al-Qadiri, who played a significant role in the spread of Sufism throughout the region. Her teachings and writings on spiritual enlightenment and self-discovery had a lasting impact on Islamic mysticism.
During the Ottoman Empire, which spanned from the 14th to the 20th centuries, the name Inarah was particularly popular among the elite classes. One notable figure was Inarah Khanum, a influential noblewoman and patron of the arts, who lived in the 16th century. Her patronage of artists and poets helped shape the cultural landscape of the Ottoman court.
In more recent history, Inarah was the name of a renowned Syrian painter and sculptor, Inarah al-Khayri (1921-2017), whose works celebrated Arab culture and identity. Her vibrant and expressive paintings and sculptures gained international recognition and are displayed in museums around the world.
Another notable figure with the name Inarah was Inarah al-Shatri (1905-1981), an Egyptian feminist and activist who fought tirelessly for women's rights and education in the early 20th century. Her efforts helped pave the way for greater gender equality and social progress in Egypt and the broader Arab world.
People
Inarah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Inarah 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
Inarah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Inarah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Inarah 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 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Inarah a common name?
We classify Inarah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 87 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Inarah most popular?
The single biggest year for Inarah was 2021, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Inarah is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Inarah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Inarah 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.