Mir
A Persian name meaning "leader" or "prince".
Name Census estimates that about 526 living Americans carry the first name Mir. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mir today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mir births was 2017 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mir. 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
526
~ 1 in 651,624 Americans
Peak year
2017
20 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,163
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Mir: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mir from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 151 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mir remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mir 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 Mir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mirs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Mir, while Illinois, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mir
The name Mir has its origins in the Persian language, where it is derived from the word "mir," meaning "prince" or "leader." This name has been in use for centuries and has a rich historical significance.
The name Mir can be traced back to the ancient Persian empires, where it was often used as a title for nobles and rulers. It was particularly popular during the Sassanid Empire, which ruled over Persia from the 3rd to the 7th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mir can be found in the Shahnameh, a famous Persian epic poem written by Ferdowsi in the late 10th century AD. The poem mentions several characters with the name Mir, including Mir Sohrab, a legendary warrior.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Mir. One of the most famous was Mir Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur (1691-1765), who served as the Nawab of Bengal and played a pivotal role in the Battle of Plassey, which marked the beginning of British rule in India.
Another prominent figure was Mir Taqi Mir (1723-1810), a renowned Urdu poet who is considered one of the founders of the Urdu literary tradition. His ghazals (poetic compositions) are widely celebrated and have influenced generations of poets.
In the Islamic world, the name Mir has been associated with religious scholars and spiritual leaders. One such figure was Mir Syed Ali Hamadani (1314-1384), a prominent Sufi saint and scholar who played a significant role in spreading Islam in Kashmir and parts of Central Asia.
The name Mir has also been popular among rulers and monarchs. One example is Mir Muhammed Taqi Khan Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (1772-1834), who ruled as the second Shah of the Qajar dynasty in Persia from 1797 until his death.
Other notable individuals with the name Mir include Mir Alam Khan (1670-1719), a Mughal governor and military commander, and Mir Osman Ali Khan (1886-1967), the last Nizam of Hyderabad and one of the wealthiest men in the world during his lifetime.
People
Mir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mir as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 526 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mir 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 651,624 US residents.
Is Mir a common name?
We classify Mir as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 535 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mir most popular?
The single biggest year for Mir was 2017, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mir is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mir a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mir 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.
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.