Urian
A masculine name of Hebrew origin interpreted as "my light" or "flame".
Name Census estimates that about 281 living Americans carry the first name Urian. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Urian today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Urian births was 1993 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Urian. 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
281
~ 1 in 1,219,766 Americans
Peak year
1993
15 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,198
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Urian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Urian from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 108 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Urian 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 Urian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Urians live
Origin
Meaning and history of Urian
The name Urian is believed to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia, where it was likely derived from the Sumerian words "ur" meaning "city" and "an" meaning "heaven" or "sky." This suggests that the name may have carried connotations of a celestial or divine city. The earliest known use of the name dates back to the 3rd millennium BCE, when it appeared in cuneiform inscriptions found in the region.
Urian was a relatively uncommon name in ancient times, but it did gain some prominence in certain religious and historical contexts. In the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known works of literature, there is a character named Urian who serves as a minor figure in the story. Additionally, the name is mentioned in several ancient Sumerian and Akkadian texts, often in reference to deities or mythological figures.
In the centuries that followed, the name Urian appeared sporadically in various parts of the Middle East and Mediterranean region. One notable historical figure bearing this name was Urian of Alexandria, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century CE and was executed during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Decius.
During the Middle Ages, the name Urian was relatively rare, but it did surface occasionally in certain regions. One example is Urian of Vercelli, an Italian Catholic prelate who lived in the 12th century and served as the Bishop of Vercelli from 1148 until his death in 1186.
In more recent times, the name Urian has remained uncommon, but there have been a few notable individuals who carried it. One such person was Urian Oakes (1631-1681), an English-born Puritan minister who served as the president of Harvard College from 1675 until his death.
Another notable Urian was Urian Andrade (1897-1957), a Mexican artist and muralist who was part of the Mexican Muralism movement and is known for his contributions to the decoration of public buildings in Mexico City.
Despite its relative obscurity, the name Urian has persisted throughout history, carrying with it echoes of its ancient origins and associations with divinity, mythology, and celestial themes.
People
Urian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Urian 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
Urian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Urian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 281 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Urian 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 1,219,766 US residents.
Is Urian a common name?
We classify Urian as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 289 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Urian most popular?
The single biggest year for Urian was 1993, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Urian is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Urian a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Urian 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.