Baby Names US
boys' name ★ peaked 2023

Tahir

Meaning pure Gender Boy Rank 2025 #2,535 Trend ↑ Rising 49%

Taher, Tahir, Tahiru, Tahiry, Taahir, or Tahirou is a masculine given name and surname of Arabic origin meaning "pure" or "virtuous".

Rank 2025
#2,535
among boys · ↓617 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
53
named Tahir · -36% vs 2024
How common
1 in 32,228
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2023
88 babies
All-time total
1,976
#3,326 all-time among boys
First recorded
1972
in Social Security records

Tahir popularity over time

1,976 babies have been named Tahir since 1972, 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
0.020.040.060.0818801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2023Boys

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 Boys Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s – – – –
1920s – – – –
1930s – – – –
1940s – – – –
1950s – – – –
1960s – – – –
1970s 120 12 – #2,123
1980s 130 13 +8% #2,811
1990s 338 34 +160% #1,686
2000s 511 51 +51% #2,053
2010s 442 44 -14% #2,488
2020s (to 2025) 435 73 +64% #1,829

Where Tahir 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 56 0.03 outside top 500
2027 58 0.03 outside top 500
2028 60 0.04 outside top 500
2029 62 0.04 outside top 500
2030 64 0.04 outside top 500

Where Tahir is most popular

Boys named Tahir per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.044 per 1,000. Strongest in New York, Maryland, and Georgia.

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 Tahir 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
New York 44 0.102 +129%
Maryland 11 0.092 +108%
Georgia 23 0.091 +105%
Florida 33 0.070 +57%
Pennsylvania 13 0.049 +10%
Ohio 10 0.038 -15%
Virginia 7 0.037 -17%
New Jersey 7 0.035 -22%
Texas 25 0.028 -36%
California 14 0.015 -65%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
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 Tahir

Tahir is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #2,535 in 2025 with 53 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1972, 1,976 American babies have been named Tahir. Its peak came in 2023, when 88 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 Tahir stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Tahir?

The median living Tahir is about 17 years old; half are between 7 and 27. An estimated 1,900 people named Tahir are alive in the United States today.

median 17 020406080100

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

Tahir year by year

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

Year Boys Boys rank
2025 53 #2,535
2024 83 #1,918
2023 88 #1,829
2022 82 #1,916
2021 77 #1,956
2020 52 #2,498
2019 52 #2,553
2018 51 #2,543
2017 52 #2,488
2016 47 #2,657
2015 43 #2,804
2014 44 #2,747
2013 34 #3,255
2012 39 #2,996
2011 37 #3,103
2010 43 #2,820
2009 51 #2,518
2008 49 #2,576
2007 45 #2,713
2006 60 #2,171
2005 52 #2,291
2004 55 #2,157
2003 56 #2,053
2002 50 #2,148
2001 48 #2,180
2000 45 #2,219
1995 34 #2,343
1990 29 #2,428
1985 10 #4,301
1980 13 #3,406
1975 15 #2,740
1970 – –
1965 – –
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 – –
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Tahir

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

  1. 1 Tahir ibn Husayn Tahir ibn Husayn Abbasid caliphate general and governor (died 822) 776–822 · Medieval
  2. 2 Tahir Elçi Tahir Elçi Kurdish lawyer (1966–2015) Contemporary
  3. 3 Tahir Salahov Tahir Salahov Soviet and Azerbaijani artist (1928–2021) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Tahir?

The median living Tahir is about 17 years old. Half of all living Tahirs are between 7 and 27 years old.

How many people named Tahir are alive today?

An estimated 1,900 people named Tahir are alive in the United States, based on 1,976 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Tahir mean?

Taher, Tahir, Tahiru, Tahiry, Taahir, or Tahirou is a masculine given name and surname of Arabic origin meaning "pure" or "virtuous".

How popular is the name Tahir in 2025?

Tahir ranked #2,535 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 53 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Tahir?

1,976 babies have been named Tahir in the United States since 1972, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Tahir most popular?

Tahir peaked in 2023, when 88 newborns received the name.

Is Tahir a boy or girl name?

Tahir is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Tahir rising or falling?

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

Will Tahir become more popular?

Tahir is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 64 boys named Tahir in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Tahir?

Well-known people named Tahir include Tahir ibn Husayn (politician), Tahir Elçi (politician), Tahir Salahov (painter).

Names like Tahir

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

Compare Tahir with similar names → More names starting with T →