Yar
A Persian masculine name meaning "friend" or "companion".
Name Census estimates that about 71 living Americans carry the first name Yar. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yar today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yar births was 2018 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yar. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yar. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
71
~ 1 in 4,827,526 Americans
Peak year
2018
11 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,498
Tracked since 2007
Census
Yar in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 295 people with the first name Yar, which placed it at #29,826 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
#29,826
National first-name rank
People counted
295
295 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yar
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yar is Black at 42.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.9%) and White (11.9%). 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 Yar 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 Yar at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.4% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander33.9% · 100
- White11.9% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 21
- Two or more races4.7% · 14
Popularity
Yar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yar from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 41 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yar remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yar 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 Yar 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 Yar
The given name Yar has its origins in the Persian language and culture. It is derived from the Persian word "yār," which means "friend" or "companion." This name has been in use for centuries in various regions of the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia, where Persian culture has had a significant influence.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Yar can be found in the epic poetry of the 10th century Persian poet Ferdowsi. His famous work, the Shahnameh, includes characters with the name Yar, indicating its use during the late ancient and early medieval period in Persia.
In the 13th century, the renowned Persian poet Rumi used the term "Yar" in his mystical poetry to refer to the divine beloved or the spiritual companion on the path to enlightenment. This usage added a mystical and spiritual dimension to the name's meaning.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Yar. One prominent example is Yar Mohammad Khan (1776-1838), the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and the ruler of Afghanistan from 1823 to 1838. Another historical figure is Yar Bhukhsh (1888-1942), an Indian politician and freedom fighter who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement.
In the realm of literature, Yar Mohammad Khattak (1933-2014) was a renowned Pashto poet and writer from Pakistan, known for his contributions to the preservation and promotion of the Pashto language and culture.
Additionally, Yar Khan (1919-2005) was a celebrated Pakistani actor and comedian who entertained audiences for several decades with his comedic performances in both films and television.
The name Yar has also been used in various Islamic contexts. For instance, Yar Ali Khan (1858-1950) was a prominent Muslim scholar and reformer from India who worked towards promoting modern education and social reforms within the Muslim community.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Yar, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and diverse usages across different regions and contexts.
People
Yar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yar as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 71 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yar 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 4,827,526 US residents.
Is Yar a common name?
We classify Yar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 72 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yar most popular?
The single biggest year for Yar was 2018, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yar is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yar in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 295 people with the name Yar, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,826 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 Yar 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 Yar?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Yar on both sides of the split. Of the 293 people counted with this name, 130 were male (44.4%) and 163 were female (55.6%). 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 Yar?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yar is Black at 42.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.9%) and White (11.9%). 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 Yar most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Yar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.4% (125 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 Yar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yar a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yar 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 Yar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yar 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 Yar 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 Americans are named Yar?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.