Uri
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "my light" or "flame".
Name Census estimates that about 1,313 living Americans carry the first name Uri. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Uri today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Uri births was 2023 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Uri. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 261,047 Americans
Peak year
2023
71 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,089
Tracked since 1913
Gender
Gender distribution for Uri
Uri leans heavily male at 89.7% of total registrations, but 139 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Uri as a male name
- Ranked #3,089 in 2024
- 40 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (60 births)
Uri as a female name
- Ranked #8,888 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (17 births)
Popularity
Uri: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Uri from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 356 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Uri remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Uri 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 Uri during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Uris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, California recorded the most babies named Uri, while Florida, North Carolina, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 62 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Uri
The name Uri has its origins in the Hebrew language and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "ur," meaning "light" or "flame," suggesting a connection to brightness, illumination, and perhaps even divine radiance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Uri can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where it is mentioned as the name of a gatekeeper in the Book of Ezra (7:10). This reference dates back to around the 5th century BCE, during the post-exilic period of Jewish history.
In ancient Jewish and Israeli culture, the name Uri was sometimes associated with the idea of enlightenment or spiritual guidance. Some scholars believe it may have been used as a symbolic name for individuals who were considered wise or knowledgeable.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Uri. One of the earliest was Uri ben Hur, a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Ezra (10:24) as one of the Israelites who had taken foreign wives during the Babylonian exile.
In the 1st century CE, Uri ben Shmuel was a prominent Jewish scholar and member of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish legal and ecclesiastical court during the Roman period. His teachings and interpretations of Jewish law were highly influential.
Another historical figure was Uri Cohen, a 13th-century Jewish philosopher and kabbalist from Spain. He was known for his works on Jewish mysticism and his contributions to the development of Kabbalah.
In more recent times, Uri Geller, born in 1946, is an Israeli-British illusionist and self-proclaimed psychic who gained significant fame in the 1970s for his claimed ability to bend spoons and other metal objects with his mind.
Uri Avnery, who lived from 1923 to 2018, was an Israeli writer, journalist, and peace activist. He was a prominent figure in the Israeli peace movement and a vocal advocate for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Uri, showcasing its longevity and cultural significance within the Jewish and Israeli traditions.
People
Uri + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Uri as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Uri: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Uri?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,313 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Uri 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 261,047 US residents.
Is Uri a common name?
We classify Uri as "Rare". It ranks above 91.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,351 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Uri most popular?
The single biggest year for Uri was 2023, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Uri is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Uri a male name?
Yes, 89.7% of people registered as Uri 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.