Inci
A feminine Turkish name meaning "precious pearl" or "delicate".
Name Census estimates that about 25 living Americans carry the first name Inci. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Inci today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Inci births was 2019 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Inci. 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 Inci with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Inci. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
25
~ 1 in 13,710,174 Americans
Peak year
2019
8 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,166
Tracked since 2010
Census
Inci in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 202 people with the first name Inci, which placed it at #38,178 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
#38,178
National first-name rank
People counted
202
202 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Inci
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Inci is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Inci 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 Inci at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 180
- Hispanic or Latino8.4% · 17
- Two or more races2.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Inci: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Inci from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 20 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Inci 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 Inci 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 Inci
The given name Inci originates from the Turkish language and culture. It is believed to be derived from the Turkish word "inci," which means "pearl." The name likely emerged during the Ottoman Empire period, which spanned from the 13th to the 20th century.
Inci was a name commonly given to girls born in regions where Turkish was spoken, including modern-day Turkey, parts of the Middle East, and the Balkans. The name's association with pearls suggests it may have been given to signify beauty, purity, or value.
While the exact origins of the name are uncertain, it is mentioned in various Turkish literary works and historical records from the Ottoman era. One notable example is the 16th-century Ottoman poet Fuzuli, who used the pen name "Inci" in some of his writings.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Inci. One of the earliest known was Inci Hatun (born around 1350), a Turkish princess and the daughter of Sultan Murad I. Another early figure was Inci Muallime (1874-1956), a Turkish educator and women's rights advocate.
In the 20th century, Inci Eviner (1923-2014) was a renowned Turkish painter and sculptor known for her abstract works. Inci Tuğsavul (1925-2018) was a prominent Turkish author and poet who wrote extensively about women's issues.
More recently, Inci Eren (born 1967) is a Turkish actress and television personality who has appeared in numerous popular TV series and films. She continues to be a prominent figure in Turkish entertainment.
While the name Inci has deep roots in Turkish culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among communities with Turkish or Middle Eastern backgrounds. However, its origins and historical significance remain closely tied to the Turkish language and the rich cultural heritage of the Ottoman Empire.
People
Inci + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Inci 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
Inci: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Inci?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Inci 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 13,710,174 US residents.
Is Inci a common name?
We classify Inci as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Inci most popular?
The single biggest year for Inci was 2019, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Inci is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Inci in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 202 people with the name Inci, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,178 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 Inci 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 Inci?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Inci appears almost entirely female. Of the 202 people counted with this name, 99.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Inci?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Inci is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Inci most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Inci in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (180 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 Inci in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Inci a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Inci 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 Inci still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Inci 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 Inci 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 common is the name Inci?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Inci at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.