Emir
Emir was the 551st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 546 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 690 places. More babies were named Emir in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning prince, commander (Arabic amīr) · Arabic, Turkish
Say it eh-MEER /ɛˈmɪr/
- Rank in 2025
- #551 boys, up 99 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 546boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2025546 babies
- Total since 1880
- 5,620babies recorded
What does the name Emir mean?
Emir is the Turkish and Serbo-Croatian form of Arabic amīr, a commander, prince or ruler. Wiktionary and the American Heritage Dictionary derive amīr from the Arabic verb meaning to command, and English borrowed emir, through French, as a title for such rulers. Wiktionary records Emir as a boys' name in Turkish and in Serbo-Croatian. In the US it has been used since 1970. Amir is the same word spelled closer to Arabic.
أَمِير (Arabic, “commander, prince”)ء م ر (Arabic, “root: to command”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Amir, Ameer, Emiro.
See also: Arabic names, names that mean king or queen.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Emir' (Turkish section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'أمير' (Arabic section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., entry 'emir' (etymology), HarperCollins / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Emir popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 5 since 2023.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #551 | 546 |
| 2020 | #650 | 411 |
| 2010 | #1,545 | 104 |
| 2000 | #2,180 | 46 |
| 1990 | #5,510 | 9 |
| 1980 | #5,105 | 7 |
| 1970 | #4,931 | 5 |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Emir, counting every spelling?
Emir is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #535 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #551 for Emir on its own. Together these spellings went to 566 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emir | 546 | #551 | 2,402 |
| Emyr | 20 | #4,909 | 87 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Emir?
546 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Emir (0.15 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Emir born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 15 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Emir.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Emir?
About 5,600 people born in the US named Emir are alive today, with a median age of 6; half are between 3 and 15. That makes Emir a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Emir by state
How common Emir was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maryland (1.8×), New York (1.7×), Illinois (1.6×), Georgia (1.6×), New Jersey (1.6×). In 19 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Emir: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Emir, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Emir · Sibling names for Emir
Questions about the name Emir
What does Emir mean?
Emir means “prince, commander (Arabic amīr)” (Arabic, Turkish origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Emir?
Emir was the 551st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 546 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 690 places. More babies were named Emir in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Emir a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Emir in the US.
Where is Emir most popular?
In 2021–2025, Emir was most common in Maryland (0.49 per 1,000 boys), followed by New York and Illinois.