Akbar
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- AK-bar
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,742 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #6,442 for boys
Akbar is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “greatest; very great”. In 2025 it ranked 2,742nd for boys in the UK (8 babies) and 6,442nd for boys in the US (13 babies).
What does Akbar mean?
Arabic: Arabic akbar, from kabir 'great'
“greatest; very great”
Borne by Akbar the Great, the 16th-century Mughal emperor known for his religious tolerance.
Is Akbar a girl's or a boy's name?
Akbar is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 boys in the UK and 13 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Akbar in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,742nd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 8 about 1 in 37,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 8% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 8 boys in the UK were named Akbar, making it the 2,742nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,108th. Its busiest year was 1996, with 16 boys.
Half of all the boys named Akbar in the UK since 1996 were born between 2000 and 2014. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,658th in England and Wales.
Akbar in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #2,742 |
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 3 | #5,193 |
| 2022 | 8 | #2,678 |
| 2021 | 3 | #4,989 |
| 2020 | 6 | #3,108 |
| 2019 | 4 | #4,126 |
| 2018 | 3 | #4,959 |
| 2017 | 5 | #3,608 |
| 2016 | 3 | #5,015 |
| 2015 | 8 | #2,614 |
| 2014 | 10 | #2,207 |
| 2013 | 11 | #2,033 |
| 2012 | 9 | #2,382 |
| 2011 | 9 | #2,311 |
| 2010 | 7 | #2,775 |
| 2009 | 8 | #2,445 |
| 2008 | 8 | #2,384 |
| 2007 | 7 | #2,554 |
| 2006 | 11 | #1,742 |
| 2005 | 6 | #2,545 |
| 2004 | 9 | #1,831 |
| 2003 | 5 | #2,574 |
| 2002 | 5 | #2,358 |
| 2001 | 10 | #1,458 |
| 2000 | 12 | #1,235 |
| 1999 | 10 | #1,352 |
| 1998 | 12 | #1,180 |
| 1997 | 12 | #1,174 |
| 1996 | 16 | #940 |
How popular is Akbar in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 6,442nd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 13 about 1 in 130,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 13 boys in the US were named Akbar, making it the 6,442nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,734th. Its busiest year was 1975, with 21 boys. It first appears in the records in 1960.
Half of all the boys named Akbar in the US since 1880 were born between 1978 and 2011, the years shaded on the chart below.
Akbar in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | #6,442 |
| 2024 | 16 | #5,655 |
| 2023 | 11 | #7,284 |
| 2022 | 8 | #8,983 |
| 2021 | 11 | #7,084 |
| 2020 | 8 | #8,734 |
| 2019 | 6 | #10,797 |
| 2018 | 12 | #6,699 |
| 2017 | 12 | #6,681 |
| 2016 | 11 | #7,152 |
| 2015 | 16 | #5,503 |
| 2014 | 9 | #8,124 |
| 2013 | 7 | #9,650 |
| 2012 | 7 | #9,703 |
| 2011 | 15 | #5,670 |
| 2010 | 7 | #9,686 |
| 2009 | 9 | #8,305 |
| 2008 | 9 | #8,319 |
| 2007 | 5 | #12,361 |
| 2006 | 11 | #6,899 |
| 2005 | 7 | #9,108 |
| 2004 | 14 | #5,487 |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 6 | #9,385 |
| 2001 | 18 | #4,296 |
| 2000 | 7 | #8,202 |
| 1999 | 9 | #6,524 |
| 1998 | 11 | #5,460 |
| 1997 | 9 | #6,094 |
| 1996 | 10 | #5,528 |
| 1995 | 13 | #4,502 |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 8 | #6,221 |
| 1992 | 9 | #5,652 |
| 1991 | 12 | #4,468 |
| 1990 | 8 | #5,816 |
| 1989 | 10 | #4,805 |
| 1988 | 9 | #4,781 |
| 1987 | 7 | #5,453 |
| 1986 | 8 | #4,848 |
| 1985 | 5 | #6,517 |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 9 | #4,139 |
| 1982 | 8 | #4,591 |
| 1981 | 11 | #3,599 |
| 1980 | 10 | #3,837 |
| 1979 | 16 | #2,776 |
| 1978 | 17 | #2,567 |
| 1977 | 19 | #2,361 |
| 1976 | 20 | #2,244 |
| 1975 | 21 | #2,133 |
| 1974 | 11 | #3,118 |
| 1973 | 9 | #3,443 |
| 1972 | 8 | #3,620 |
| 1971 | 6 | #4,373 |
| 1970 | 5 | #4,722 |
| 1969 | 9 | #3,061 |
| 1968 | 7 | #3,364 |
| 1967 | 5 | #3,964 |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 7 | #3,242 |
| 1964 | 5 | #4,038 |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 5 | #4,031 |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 6 | #3,663 |
Names like Akbar
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Ahmed, Umar, Muhammad, Amir, Abdullah, Hamza, Ammar, Abdur, Hassan, Aamir, Mustafa, Musa
More Arabic names
Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Aaliyah, Amira, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Aisha, Omar, Zahra, Kairo, Safa
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Akbar: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/akbar, updated 20 October 2026.