How popular is the baby name Omar in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Omar.

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Popularity of the baby name Omar


Posts that mention the name Omar

Top Hebrew baby names in Israel, 5785

Flag of Israel
Flag of Israel

The country of Israel releases two sets of baby name rankings: one for the Gregorian year (e.g., 2024), the other for the Hebrew year.

I don’t usually post the Hebrew-year rankings, but I was intrigued by the latest set, which was released a couple of weeks before the end of 5785 (Oct. 2024 to Sep. 2025, roughly).

Below are Israel’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names — both overall and among Jewish residents specifically — for the Hebrew year 5785:

Girls names

Top girl names, all babiesTop girl names, Jewish babies
Avigail
Miriam
Libi
Tamar
Sara
Lia
Yael
Ella
Ayala
Noa		Avigail
Tamar
Libi
Yael
Sara
Ella
Noa
Lia
Ayala
Esther

Boy names

Top boy names, all babiesTop boy names, Jewish babies
Muhammad
Yosef
Adam
David
Lavie/Lavi
Ariel
Omar
Rafael
Uri
Yehuda		Lavie/Lavi
Ariel
David
Rafael
Uri
Yehuda
Eliya
Ari
Eitan
Micha’el

The news release suggested that Lavi, which means “lion” in Hebrew, became the most popular name for Jewish boys due to the influence of Israel’s Operation Am KeLavi (“a people like a lion”), which was launched against Iran in June of 2025. (The war lasted 12 days.)

Except…Lavi has been close to the top spot for several years now. It ranked #2 among Jewish boys in both 2023 and 2020, for instance. So did the headlines really push Lavi to #1, or would it have ended up there regardless?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Israel (public domain)

Where did the baby name Shireen come from in 1923?

The characters Omar and Shireen from the movie "Omar the Tentmaker" (1922)
Omar and Shireen from “Omar the Tentmaker“

The baby name Shireen first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1923:

  • 1925: unlisted
  • 1924: unlisted
  • 1923: 5 baby girls named Shireen [debut]
  • 1922: unlisted
  • 1921: unlisted

A similar uptick can be seen in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) data the same year:

  • 1925: 3 people named Shireen
  • 1924: 2 people named Shireen
  • 1923: 4 people named Shireen
  • 1922: no one named Shireen
  • 1921: 1 person named Shireen

What was drawing attention to the name Shireen around that time?

Two different characters in the silent film Omar the Tentmaker, which was released in December of 1922.

The movie was loosely based on the life of medieval Iranian polymath Omar Khayyam. Here’s how it was described in an advertisement:

Omar, most daring poet of ancient Persia, secretly wooed the beautiful, the forbidden Shireen, destined to be the bride of the Shah. Fleeing in the night, the Shah’s slaves tear them apart. Follows thrill, romance and conflict before the lovers are reunited in a most spectacular and smashing climax.

The plot, which spans a number of years, actually features two romances: the primary one between Omar (played by Guy Bates Post) and Shireen (Virginia Brown Faire), and a secondary one between the couple’s grown daughter “little Shireen” (Patsy Ruth Miller) and a Christian crusader.

The film was adapted from the 1914 play of the same name by playwright Richard Walton Tully.

The Persian name Shireen (also spelled Shirin) is transliteration of a Persian word meaning “sweet.” What are your thoughts on the name?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from Shadowland magazine (Oct. 1922)

Top names for baby boys, letter by letter, in 2024

First letters of baby boy names in 2024 (U.S.)

The most common first letter for baby boy names last year was J (used 10.7% of the time), followed by A (10.5%) and L (7.5%).

The least common first letter was Q (used 0.1% of the time), followed by U (0.2%) and X (0.4%).

So, what were the most popular boy names of 2024 within each letter group?

Top boy names starting with A:

  1. Asher
  2. Alexander
  3. Anthony
  4. Aiden
  5. Angel

Top boy names starting with B:

  1. Benjamin
  2. Bennett
  3. Brooks
  4. Beau
  5. Bryson

Top boy names starting with C:

  1. Carter
  2. Caleb
  3. Cooper
  4. Charles
  5. Christopher

Top boy names starting with D:

  1. Daniel
  2. Dylan
  3. David
  4. Dominic
  5. Damian

Top boy names starting with E:

  1. Elijah
  2. Ezra
  3. Ethan
  4. Elias
  5. Ezekiel

Top boy names starting with F:

  1. Felix
  2. Finn
  3. Finley
  4. Francisco
  5. Fernando

Top boy names starting with G:

  1. Gabriel
  2. Grayson
  3. Gael
  4. Giovanni
  5. George

Top boy names starting with H:

  1. Henry
  2. Hudson
  3. Harrison
  4. Hunter
  5. Hayden

Top boy names starting with I:

  1. Isaac
  2. Isaiah
  3. Ian
  4. Ivan
  5. Ismael

Top boy names starting with J:

  1. James
  2. Jack
  3. John
  4. Julian
  5. Joseph

Top boy names starting with K:

  1. Kai
  2. Kayden
  3. Kingston
  4. Kevin
  5. Kaiden

Top boy names starting with L:

  1. Liam
  2. Lucas
  3. Levi
  4. Luca
  5. Leo

Top boy names starting with M:

  1. Mateo
  2. Michael
  3. Matthew
  4. Maverick
  5. Miles

(Mason, which ranked third in 2023, dropped to sixth last year.)

Top boy names starting with N:

  1. Noah
  2. Nathan
  3. Nolan
  4. Nicholas
  5. Nathaniel

Top boy names starting with O:

  1. Oliver
  2. Owen
  3. Oscar
  4. Omar
  5. Otto

Top boy names starting with P:

  1. Parker
  2. Peter
  3. Patrick
  4. Paul
  5. Phoenix

Top boy names starting with Q:

  1. Quinn
  2. Quincy
  3. Quentin
  4. Quinton
  5. Quintin

Top boy names starting with R:

  1. Roman
  2. Rowan
  3. Ryan
  4. Robert
  5. River

Top boy names starting with S:

  1. Sebastian
  2. Samuel
  3. Santiago
  4. Silas
  5. Sawyer

Top boy names starting with T:

  1. Theodore
  2. Thomas
  3. Thiago
  4. Theo
  5. Tyler

Top boy names starting with U:

  1. Uriel
  2. Uriah
  3. Ulises
  4. Umar
  5. Ulysses

Top boy names starting with V:

  1. Vincent
  2. Victor
  3. Valentino
  4. Vicente
  5. Vincenzo

Top boy names starting with W:

  1. William
  2. Wyatt
  3. Wesley
  4. Waylon
  5. Weston

Top boy names starting with X:

  1. Xavier
  2. Xander
  3. Xzavier
  4. Xavi
  5. Xyleek

(Xyleek debuted impressively in the data last year.)

Top boy names starting with Y:

  1. Yusuf
  2. Yosef
  3. Yahya
  4. Yehuda
  5. Yahir

Top boy names starting with Z:

  1. Zion
  2. Zachary
  3. Zayden
  4. Zayn
  5. Zyaire

Source: SSA

Most popular baby boy names (letter by letter) in the U.S. in 2023

First letter usage for baby boy names in the U.S. in 2023

Going letter by letter, what were last year’s most popular baby boy names?

Before we get to the lists, a few quick facts:

  • The most common first letter for boy names in 2023 was J (used 10.98% of the time), followed by A (10.51%) and M (7.60%).
  • The least common first letter for boy names in 2023 was U (used 0.15% of the time), followed by Q (0.16%) and X (0.40%).
  • The first letter that increased the most in usage for boy names (from 2022 to 2023) was T.
  • The first letter that decreased the most in usage for boy names (from 2022 to 2023) was J.

Top boy names starting with A:

  1. Alexander, 7,875 baby boys
  2. Asher, 7,853
  3. Aiden, 6,675
  4. Anthony, 6,237
  5. Angel, 4,865
  6. Andrew, 4,781
  7. Adrian, 4,646
  8. Aaron, 4,551
  9. Axel, 4,498
  10. Amir, 3,620

Top boy names starting with B:

  1. Benjamin, 10,172 baby boys
  2. Brooks, 4,469
  3. Bennett, 4,411
  4. Beau, 4,090
  5. Bryson, 2,434
  6. Brayden, 2,274
  7. Braxton, 2,128
  8. Bentley, 1,906
  9. Beckett, 1,865
  10. Beckham, 1,829

Top boy names starting with C:

  1. Carter, 5,847 baby boys
  2. Caleb, 5,488
  3. Cooper, 5,425
  4. Charles, 5,395
  5. Christopher, 5,171
  6. Cameron, 5,069
  7. Christian, 4,125
  8. Colton, 3,696
  9. Carson, 3,200
  10. Connor, 2,855

Top boy names starting with D:

  1. Daniel, 8,356 baby boys
  2. David, 7,354
  3. Dylan, 7,054
  4. Dominic, 3,395
  5. Damian, 3,281
  6. Declan, 2,799
  7. Diego, 2,734
  8. Dawson, 2,439
  9. Dean, 2,281
  10. Dallas, 1,375

Top boy names starting with E:

  1. Elijah, 11,452 baby boys
  2. Ezra, 8,437
  3. Ethan, 7,763
  4. Elias, 6,980
  5. Ezekiel, 5,569
  6. Eli, 4,081
  7. Everett, 3,808
  8. Enzo, 3,796
  9. Easton, 3,637
  10. Emmett, 3,061

Top boy names starting with F:

  1. Finn, 1,907 baby boys
  2. Felix, 1,894
  3. Finley, 1,171
  4. Francisco, 1,121
  5. Fernando, 967
  6. Franklin, 776
  7. Forrest, 737
  8. Francis, 670
  9. Fabian, 656
  10. Frank, 646

Top boy names starting with G:

  1. Gabriel, 6,745 baby boys
  2. Grayson, 6,449
  3. Gael, 3,616
  4. Greyson, 3,065
  5. Giovanni, 2,911
  6. George, 2,689
  7. Graham, 2,533
  8. Griffin, 1,722
  9. Grant, 1,539
  10. Gavin, 1,512

Top boy names starting with H:

  1. Henry, 10,941 baby boys
  2. Hudson, 7,935
  3. Hunter, 3,110
  4. Harrison, 3,060
  5. Hayden, 2,219
  6. Hayes, 1,746
  7. Holden, 1,171
  8. Hendrix, 1,084
  9. Harvey, 1,022
  10. Hector, 828

Top boy names starting with I:

  1. Isaac, 6,581 baby boys
  2. Isaiah, 5,121
  3. Ian, 4,538
  4. Ivan, 2,384
  5. Israel, 1,530
  6. Ismael, 1,421
  7. Iker, 915
  8. Ibrahim, 774
  9. Isaias, 700
  10. Izaiah, 491

Top boy names starting with J:

  1. James, 11,670 baby boys
  2. Jack, 8,683
  3. John, 7,750
  4. Jackson, 7,284
  5. Joseph, 7,237
  6. Julian, 7,078
  7. Jacob, 6,976
  8. Jayden, 5,627
  9. Josiah, 5,404
  10. Joshua, 5,035

Top boy names starting with K:

  1. Kai, 4,946 baby boys
  2. Kayden, 3,120
  3. Kingston, 2,511
  4. Kaiden, 2,126
  5. Kevin, 1,914
  6. Knox, 1,770
  7. Karter, 1,590
  8. Kairo, 1,484
  9. Kyrie, 1,474
  10. Kash, 1,316

Top boy names starting with L:

  1. Liam, 20,802 baby boys
  2. Lucas, 10,842
  3. Levi, 9,347
  4. Leo, 8,120
  5. Luca, 7,770
  6. Luke, 7,217
  7. Logan, 6,686
  8. Lincoln, 4,842
  9. Leonardo, 4,012
  10. Luka, 3,650

Top boy names starting with M:

  1. Mateo, 11,229 baby boys
  2. Michael, 8,383
  3. Mason, 7,237
  4. Matthew, 7,190
  5. Maverick, 6,962
  6. Miles, 6,558
  7. Micah, 3,875
  8. Myles, 3,399
  9. Milo, 2,950
  10. Matteo, 2,503

Top boy names starting with N:

  1. Noah, 18,995 baby boys
  2. Nolan, 5,112
  3. Nathan, 5,049
  4. Nicholas, 3,242
  5. Nathaniel, 2,507
  6. Nicolas, 1,886
  7. Nico, 1,462
  8. Nash, 1,328
  9. Niko, 1,033
  10. Nasir, 739

Top boy names starting with O:

  1. Oliver, 14,741 baby boys
  2. Owen, 7,985
  3. Oscar, 1,693
  4. Omar, 1,306
  5. Otto, 1,191
  6. Onyx, 1,069
  7. Odin, 897
  8. Orion, 861
  9. Oakley, 799
  10. Ozzy, 526

Top boy names starting with P:

  1. Parker, 3,792 baby boys
  2. Peter, 1,738
  3. Patrick, 1,596
  4. Paul, 1,351 (tie)
  5. Paxton, 1,351 (tie)
  6. Phoenix, 1,243
  7. Preston, 1,228
  8. Prince, 885
  9. Pablo, 850
  10. Pedro, 753

Top boy names starting with Q:

  1. Quinn, 685 baby boys
  2. Quincy, 401
  3. Quentin, 334
  4. Quinton, 301
  5. Quintin, 120
  6. Quinten, 88
  7. Quest, 84
  8. Quadir, 70
  9. Quade, 53
  10. Qasim, 51

Top boy names starting with R:

  1. Roman, 4,777 baby boys
  2. Rowan, 4,195
  3. Ryan, 4,020
  4. Robert, 3,807
  5. River, 3,084
  6. Ryder, 2,822
  7. Rhett, 2,183
  8. Ryker, 1,976
  9. Richard, 1,638
  10. Riley, 1,627

Top boy names starting with S:

  1. Sebastian, 8,865 baby boys
  2. Samuel, 7,973
  3. Santiago, 6,328
  4. Silas, 4,070
  5. Sawyer, 2,833
  6. Stetson, 1,987
  7. Simon, 1,398
  8. Steven, 1,387
  9. Saint, 1,059
  10. Sonny, 924

Top boy names starting with T:

  1. Theodore, 11,041 baby boys
  2. Thomas, 6,598
  3. Thiago, 4,505
  4. Theo, 4,122
  5. Tyler, 2,064
  6. Tate, 1,845
  7. Tucker, 1,802
  8. Timothy, 1,733
  9. Tatum, 1,492
  10. Tristan, 1,373

Top boy names starting with U:

  1. Uriel, 606 baby boys
  2. Uriah, 378
  3. Ulises, 221
  4. Ulysses, 169
  5. Umar, 152
  6. Uziel, 111
  7. Usman, 86
  8. Unknown, 67
  9. Uzziah, 65
  10. Uri, 60

Top boy names starting with V:

  1. Vincent, 2,982 baby boys
  2. Victor, 1,687
  3. Valentino, 575
  4. Vicente, 441
  5. Valentin, 372
  6. Vincenzo, 352
  7. Vihaan, 280
  8. Van, 252
  9. Vance, 236
  10. Veer, 224

Top boy names starting with W:

  1. William, 10,598 baby boys
  2. Wyatt, 6,237
  3. Waylon, 4,881
  4. Wesley, 4,539
  5. Weston, 4,356
  6. Walker, 4,006
  7. Walter, 1,272
  8. Warren, 1,080
  9. Wade, 971
  10. Winston, 797

Top boy names starting with X:

  1. Xavier, 3,413 baby boys
  2. Xander, 1,700
  3. Xzavier, 153
  4. Xavi, 118
  5. Xavion, 111
  6. Xaiden, 101
  7. Xavien, 94
  8. Xavian, 91
  9. Xion, 85
  10. Xayden, 65

Top boy names starting with Y:

  1. Yusuf, 610 baby boys
  2. Yosef, 444
  3. Yael, 328
  4. Yehuda, 318
  5. Yousef, 297
  6. Yahir, 290
  7. Yahya, 263
  8. Yadiel, 242
  9. Yaakov, 231
  10. Yisroel, 228

Top boy names starting with Z:

  1. Zion, 2,867 baby boys
  2. Zachary, 2,112
  3. Zayden, 1,898
  4. Zayn, 1,413
  5. Zane, 1,220
  6. Zyaire, 1,029
  7. Zander, 924
  8. Zayne, 717
  9. Zaire, 654
  10. Zaiden, 567

Source: SSA