girls' name ★ peaked 1998

Imani

Meaning faith, belief Gender Girl · 5% boys Rank 2025 #579 Trend → Stable

Borrowed from Swahili, from imani (“faith, belief”), from Arabic إِيمَان (ʔīmān).

Rank 2025
#579
among girls · ↓53 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
553
named Imani · -12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,139
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1998
1,272 babies
All-time total
29,212
#874 all-time among girls
First recorded
1970
in Social Security records

Imani popularity over time

29,212 babies have been named Imani since 1970, 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
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

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 – – – – – –
1960s – – – – – –
1970s 255 75 330 33 – #2,409
1980s 522 81 603 60 +83% #1,245
1990s 8,011 401 8,412 841 +1295% #239
2000s 8,823 290 9,113 911 +8% #300
2010s 6,672 270 6,942 694 -24% #372
2020s (to 2025) 3,534 278 3,812 635 -8% #476

Where Imani is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (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 girls Implied rank
2026 510 0.32 outside top 500
2027 509 0.32 outside top 500
2028 508 0.32 outside top 500
2029 507 0.32 outside top 500
2030 506 0.32 outside top 500

Where Imani is most popular

Girls named Imani per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.364 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Imani 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 Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Mississippi 59 1.26 +246%
Louisiana 91 1.04 +186%
South Carolina 77 0.857 +135%
Georgia 192 0.845 +132%
Nevada 37 0.797 +119%
Alabama 74 0.788 +116%
Maryland 79 0.746 +105%
Arkansas 36 0.681 +87%
North Carolina 139 0.611 +68%
Tennessee 84 0.530 +46%
Florida 222 0.519 +42%
Texas 408 0.507 +39%
Arizona 70 0.499 +37%
Virginia 83 0.487 +34%
Michigan 83 0.456 +25%
Indiana 60 0.427 +17%
District of Columbia 5 0.422 +16%
Connecticut 24 0.413 +13%
Missouri 49 0.407 +12%
Washington 57 0.395 +8%
Oklahoma 27 0.367 ≈ national
Kansas 21 0.364 ≈ national
Wisconsin 37 0.359 ≈ national
New York 136 0.343 -6%
Illinois 78 0.341 -6%
Massachusetts 41 0.339 -7%
New Jersey 60 0.332 -9%
Ohio 78 0.329 -10%
Pennsylvania 66 0.279 -23%
California 223 0.265 -27%
New Mexico 6 0.247 -32%
Colorado 25 0.224 -38%
Oregon 14 0.215 -41%
Minnesota 22 0.204 -44%
Kentucky 15 0.175 -52%
Nebraska 6 0.167 -54%
Iowa 5 0.086 -76%
Alaska – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
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 Imani

Imani is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #579 in 2025 with 512 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1970, 29,212 American babies have been named Imani. Its peak came in 1998, when 1,272 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

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 Imani stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Imani?

The median living Imani is about 20 years old; half are between 11 and 27. An estimated 29 thousand people named Imani are alive in the United States today.

median 20 020406080100

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

Imani 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 512 #579 41 #3,014
2024 585 #526 46 #2,805
2023 647 #476 54 #2,493
2022 627 #504 47 #2,769
2021 583 #530 58 #2,357
2020 580 #522 32 #3,448
2019 597 #521 40 #3,013
2018 607 #516 23 #4,411
2017 573 #541 35 #3,270
2016 577 #541 25 #4,140
2015 585 #533 19 #4,948
2014 626 #500 20 #4,760
2013 630 #482 24 #4,111
2012 807 #387 26 #3,940
2011 809 #392 32 #3,389
2010 861 #372 26 #3,932
2009 774 #411 21 #4,644
2008 841 #384 31 #3,518
2007 845 #388 17 #5,288
2006 785 #405 19 #4,755
2005 757 #412 23 #3,980
2004 801 #388 42 #2,582
2003 954 #328 27 #3,394
2002 968 #318 39 #2,525
2001 1,047 #300 30 #3,017
2000 1,051 #304 41 #2,350
1995 1,034 #266 43 #1,966
1990 203 #936 25 #2,654
1985 36 #2,674 – –
1980 37 #2,550 10 #3,960
1975 25 #2,904 8 #4,095
1970 9 #5,551 – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Imani?

The median living Imani is about 20 years old. Half of all living Imanis are between 11 and 27 years old.

How many people named Imani are alive today?

An estimated 29 thousand people named Imani are alive in the United States, based on 29,212 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Imani mean?

Borrowed from Swahili, from imani (“faith, belief”), from Arabic إِيمَان (ʔīmān).

How popular is the name Imani in 2025?

Imani ranked #579 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 512 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Imani?

29,212 babies have been named Imani in the United States since 1970, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Imani most popular?

Imani peaked in 1998, when 1,272 newborns received the name.

Is Imani a boy or girl name?

Imani is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 95% of babies with the name.

Is the name Imani rising or falling?

Imani has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Imani become more popular?

Imani looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 506 girls named Imani in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Imani

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

Compare Imani with similar names → More names starting with I →