Iran
Land of the noble and free people.
Name Census estimates that about 1,627 living Americans carry the first name Iran. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 76.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Iran today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Iran births was 2000 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Iran. 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.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 210,666 Americans
Peak year
2000
71 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,311
Tracked since 1921
Census
Iran in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,390 people with the first name Iran, which placed it at #6,648 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
#6,648
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,390 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
63.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Iran
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iran is Hispanic at 63.8%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Black (13.9%). 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 Iran 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 Iran at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino63.8% · 1,525
- White17.4% · 415
- Black or African American13.9% · 332
- Two or more races2.5% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
Gender
Gender distribution for Iran
Iran is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,764 total registrations, 1,348 (76.4%) were male and 416 (23.6%) were female.
Iran as a male name
- Ranked #9,311 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1978 (36 births)
Iran as a female name
- Ranked #13,544 in 2015
- 7 female births in 2015
- Peak: 2000 (42 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Iran on both sides of the split. Of the 2,392 people counted with this name, 1,520 were male (63.5%) and 872 were female (36.5%).
Popularity
Iran: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Iran from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 454 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Iran 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 Iran during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Irans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Iran, while Florida, Arizona, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 75 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Iran
The name Iran is believed to have its origins in the ancient Persian language, which is a branch of the Indo-Iranian language family. The name itself is thought to be derived from the Old Persian word "aryanam," meaning "land of the Aryans." This term was used to refer to the region that is now known as Iran, as well as parts of neighboring countries.
The first recorded use of the name Iran can be traced back to the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over the Persian realm from around 550 BCE to 330 BCE. During this time, the name was used to describe the vast territory that stretched from modern-day Iran to parts of Central Asia and the Middle East.
In ancient Persian texts, such as the Avesta and the Shahnameh, the name Iran is mentioned frequently as a reference to the land and its people. These texts provide valuable insights into the cultural and historical significance of the name during that era.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Iran was Iran Khodadad, a Persian poet who lived during the 12th century CE. He is known for his contributions to Persian literature and his works that celebrated the beauty and culture of his homeland.
Another notable figure with the name Iran was Iran Diba, a former Empress of Iran who was married to the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. She was born in 1936 and played a significant role in promoting Iranian culture and arts during her time as the First Lady of Iran.
In the realm of ancient history, the name Iran is associated with the legendary king Fereydun, who is described in the Shahnameh as one of the earliest rulers of the Iranian plateau. According to the epic, Fereydun was responsible for uniting the various tribes and territories that would eventually become known as Iran.
During the Sassanid Empire, which ruled over Iran from 224 CE to 651 CE, the name Iran continued to be used as a reference to the land and its people. This period saw a resurgence of Persian culture and identity, further solidifying the significance of the name.
Another notable figure bearing the name Iran was Iran Yazdani, a prominent Iranian artist and sculptor who lived during the 20th century. He is known for his contributions to modern Iranian art and his works that explored themes of Persian mythology and culture.
While the name Iran has a rich historical legacy, it is essential to note that its usage as a personal name has been more prevalent in certain regions and cultures within the broader Iranian sphere of influence. The name continues to hold cultural and historical significance for many people of Persian descent.
People
Iran + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Iran 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
Iran: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Iran?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,627 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Iran 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 210,666 US residents.
Is Iran a common name?
We classify Iran as "Rare". It ranks above 92.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,764 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Iran most popular?
The single biggest year for Iran was 2000, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Iran is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Iran in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,390 people with the name Iran, or 0.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,648 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 Iran 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 Iran?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Iran on both sides of the split. Of the 2,392 people counted with this name, 1,520 were male (63.5%) and 872 were female (36.5%). 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 Iran?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Iran is Hispanic at 63.8%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Black (13.9%). 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 Iran most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Iran in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.8% (1,525 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 Iran in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Iran a male name?
Yes, 76.4% of people registered as Iran 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 Iran still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Iran 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 Iran 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 the name Iran?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.