Amir
Meaning
prince, commander
The story
Amir is two names that happen to look identical. In Arabic it is amir, commander or prince, the word usually given as the source of admiral after a long Mediterranean journey through Latin. In Hebrew, amir is the crown of a tree, the topmost branch, and Israeli families have used it for generations. Neither borrowed from the other, which makes the shared spelling a coincidence rather than a connection. Our own data files the name across Arabic, Persian, Arab American and African American naming communities, a wide reach for four letters. In US records it climbs steadily rather than suddenly: about 650 babies in the 1970s, 3,700 in the 1990s, and more than 20,000 in each of the last two decades. That shape, a long climb with no spike in it, usually means a name arrived with families rather than with a moment, and then stayed.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Amir peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
2,202 people · the #4,797 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 90,909 · median age 50
Among people named Amir living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 82 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Amir
Most people given the name Amir in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Amir deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Amir truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Amir fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Amir travels
African American · a beloved royal-flavored classic
Keep exploring
Names like Amir · Arab American baby names · Persian baby names · Arabic baby names · African American baby names · Short names
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