Unisex name ★ peaked 2022

Ari

Meaning lion Gender Unisex · 27% girls Rank 2025 #393 Trend → Stable

Of the first sense, derives directly from Hebrew: אֲרִי (arí, “lion”); compare Yiddish: לייב (leyb, “Leib”), English: Leo, Leon, French: Léo, Léon, Czech: Lev, Polish…

Rank 2025
#393
among boys · ↑6 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,284
named Ari · -7% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,114
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2022
1,752 babies
All-time total
28,254
#829 all-time among boys
First recorded
1958
in Social Security records

Ari popularity over time

28,254 babies have been named Ari since 1958, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – 22 22 2 – #2,303
1960s 17 467 484 48 +2100% #799
1970s 88 1,259 1,347 135 +178% #637
1980s 148 1,267 1,415 142 +5% #693
1990s 230 1,667 1,897 190 +34% #789
2000s 761 3,436 4,197 420 +121% #525
2010s 2,691 7,111 9,802 980 +134% #371
2020s (to 2025) 3,727 5,363 9,090 1,515 +55% #328

Where Ari is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 812 0.48 #391
2027 816 0.48 #390
2028 819 0.48 #387
2029 822 0.48 #386
2030 825 0.48 #385

Where Ari is most popular

Boys named Ari per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.530 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, New York, and Oregon.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Ari born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
District of Columbia 46 3.12 +488%
New York 566 1.31 +147%
Oregon 84 1.11 +109%
New Jersey 221 1.10 +107%
Massachusetts 126 0.916 +73%
Washington 148 0.905 +71%
Maryland 105 0.880 +66%
Vermont 5 0.796 +50%
Colorado 98 0.759 +43%
Minnesota 91 0.742 +40%
Connecticut 50 0.739 +39%
Nevada 42 0.737 +39%
Illinois 178 0.696 +31%
California 636 0.696 +31%
Pennsylvania 182 0.685 +29%
Maine 12 0.618 +17%
Florida 286 0.604 +14%
Michigan 112 0.547 ≈ national
Virginia 103 0.543 ≈ national
Wisconsin 64 0.540 ≈ national
Hawaii 8 0.515 ≈ national
Arizona 84 0.513 ≈ national
New Hampshire 11 0.495 -6%
Ohio 128 0.483 -9%
Georgia 121 0.478 -10%
Utah 45 0.471 -11%
Missouri 65 0.469 -11%
Indiana 73 0.455 -14%
North Carolina 109 0.427 -19%
Delaware 6 0.396 -25%
Kansas 26 0.379 -28%
Texas 317 0.360 -32%
Tennessee 62 0.343 -35%
Iowa 20 0.290 -45%
Oklahoma 25 0.283 -47%
Louisiana 27 0.264 -50%
Kentucky 26 0.259 -51%
Nebraska 10 0.230 -57%
South Carolina 22 0.213 -60%
New Mexico 6 0.182 -66%
Alabama 18 0.165 -69%
West Virginia 5 0.153 -71%
Idaho 5 0.122 -77%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ari

Ari is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #393 in 2025 with 808 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1958, 28,254 American babies have been named Ari, about 73% boys and 27% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2022, when 1,752 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ari stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ari?

The median living Ari is about 10 years old; half are between 4 and 19. An estimated 28 thousand people named Ari are alive in the United States today.

median 10 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ari year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 476 #614 808 #393
2024 570 #535 807 #399
2023 666 #462 974 #342
2022 722 #434 1,030 #328
2021 658 #476 957 #343
2020 635 #482 787 #392
2019 505 #600 860 #371
2018 397 #719 870 #374
2017 341 #803 802 #398
2016 278 #967 751 #418
2015 268 #1,005 771 #402
2014 227 #1,118 689 #440
2013 228 #1,082 704 #420
2012 178 #1,323 637 #435
2011 135 #1,600 510 #508
2010 134 #1,613 517 #500
2009 130 #1,705 516 #525
2008 107 #1,968 495 #536
2007 103 #1,988 463 #557
2006 78 #2,397 375 #630
2005 64 #2,639 288 #710
2004 72 #2,372 297 #678
2003 75 #2,263 298 #666
2002 57 #2,677 249 #711
2001 50 #2,884 248 #711
2000 25 #4,665 207 #789
1995 18 #5,239 166 #834
1990 22 #4,389 141 #859
1985 14 #5,096 126 #793
1980 14 #4,989 147 #720
1975 12 #4,878 105 #811
1970 6 #7,118 123 #742
1965 – – 46 #1,095
1960 – – 32 #1,401
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Ari

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ari Aster Ari Aster American filmmaker (born 1986) Contemporary
  2. 2 Ari Graynor Ari Graynor American actress (born 1983) Contemporary
  3. 3 Ari Behn Ari Behn Norwegian author (1972–2019) Contemporary
  4. 4 Ari Vatanen Ari Vatanen Finnish rally driver and politician (born 1952) Contemporary
  5. 5 Ari Folman Ari Folman Israeli film director b. 1962 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Ari Thorgilsson Icelandic medieval chronicler (1067–1148) Medieval
  7. 7 Ari Freyr Skúlason Ari Freyr Skúlason Icelandic footballer b. 1987 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Ari Ólafsson Ari Ólafsson Icelandic singer (born 1998) Contemporary
  9. 9 Ari Brazilian footballer b. 1980 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Ari Topics referred to by the same term b. 1985 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ari, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ari?

The median living Ari is about 10 years old. Half of all living Aris are between 4 and 19 years old.

How many people named Ari are alive today?

An estimated 28 thousand people named Ari are alive in the United States, based on 28,254 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ari mean?

Of the first sense, derives directly from Hebrew: אֲרִי (arí, “lion”); compare Yiddish: לייב (leyb, “Leib”), English: Leo, Leon, French: Léo, Léon, Czech: Lev, Polish: Lew, Russian: Лев (Lev), and Ukrainian: Лев (Lev).

How popular is the name Ari in 2025?

Ari ranked #393 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 808 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ari?

28,254 babies have been named Ari in the United States since 1958, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ari most popular?

Ari peaked in 2022, when 1,752 newborns received the name.

Is Ari a boy or girl name?

Ari is used for both: about 27% of babies named Ari have been girls and 73% boys.

Is the name Ari rising or falling?

Ari is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ari become more popular?

Ari looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 825 boys named Ari in 2030, ranking around #385. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ari?

Well-known people named Ari include Ari Aster (film director), Ari Graynor (actor), Ari Behn (writer).

Names like Ari

Names that sound and feel close to Ari: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ari with similar names → More names starting with A →