Nouri
A feminine Arabic name meaning "my light" or "my luminous one".
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the first name Nouri. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 71.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Nouri today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nouri births was 2023 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nouri. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nouri with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
159
~ 1 in 2,155,688 Americans
Peak year
2023
31 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,788
Tracked since 2006
Census
Nouri in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 202 people with the first name Nouri, which placed it at #38,178 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#38,178
National first-name rank
People counted
202
202 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nouri
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nouri is White at 56.4%. The next largest groups are Black (22.8%) and Two or More Races (13.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nouri described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nouri at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.4% · 114
- Black or African American22.8% · 46
- Two or more races13.4% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Nouri
Nouri is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 160 total registrations, 45 (28.1%) were male and 115 (71.9%) were female.
Nouri as a male name
- Ranked #11,848 in 2023
- 6 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2016 (7 births)
Nouri as a female name
- Ranked #8,788 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (25 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nouri on both sides of the split. Of the 200 people counted with this name, 141 were male (70.5%) and 59 were female (29.5%).
Popularity
Nouri: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nouri from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 97 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nouri by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Nouri during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nouris live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nouri
The name Nouri has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "nur," which means "light" or "illumination." The name Nouri is a variation of this root word and carries the same meaning of being enlightened or radiant.
In Islamic tradition, the concept of "nur" is significant and is often associated with divine guidance and spiritual enlightenment. The name Nouri may have been given to individuals to symbolize their connection with this spiritual light or to express a wish for them to be illuminated by knowledge and wisdom.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Nouri can be found in the works of medieval Islamic scholars and poets. For example, the 11th-century Persian poet and philosopher, Nouri Shirazi, was known for his mystical poetry and his exploration of the concept of divine love and illumination.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nouri. One of the most famous was Nouri Pasha (1828-1892), an Ottoman statesman and prime minister of the Ottoman Empire during the mid-19th century. He played a crucial role in implementing reforms and modernizing the empire.
Another prominent figure was Nouri al-Maliki (born 1950), an Iraqi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014. His tenure was marked by significant political and sectarian tensions, as well as the rise of the Islamic State militant group in Iraq.
In the field of literature, Nouri al-Jarrah (1956-2017) was a renowned Syrian novelist and short story writer. His works often explored themes of identity, exile, and the complexities of life in the Arab world. He was regarded as one of the most influential voices in contemporary Arabic literature.
Nouri Bouzid (1945-2021) was a prominent Tunisian filmmaker and actor. He gained international recognition for his critically acclaimed films that tackled social and political issues in Tunisia and the broader Arab world. His works were celebrated for their artistic excellence and cultural significance.
Nouri Ledoyen (born 1979) is a French actress known for her roles in films such as "The Beach" and "Midnight Sun." Although not of Arabic descent, her first name Nouri reflects the global reach and popularity of this name across different cultures and regions.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Nouri throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich cultural tapestry associated with this name.
People
Nouri + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nouri as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nouri: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nouri?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nouri going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,155,688 US residents.
Is Nouri a common name?
We classify Nouri as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 160 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nouri most popular?
The single biggest year for Nouri was 2023, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nouri is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nouri in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 202 people with the name Nouri, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,178 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nouri in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nouri?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nouri on both sides of the split. Of the 200 people counted with this name, 141 were male (70.5%) and 59 were female (29.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nouri?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nouri is White at 56.4%. The next largest groups are Black (22.8%) and Two or More Races (13.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nouri most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nouri in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.4% (114 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Nouri in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nouri a female name?
Yes, 71.9% of people registered as Nouri in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Nouri still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nouri in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Nouri can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Nouri?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Nouri, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.