Iqra
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- IK-ra
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #291 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #1,467 for girls
Iqra is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “read, recite”. In 2025 it ranked 291st for girls in the UK (168 babies) and 1,467th for girls in the US (146 babies).
What does Iqra mean?
Arabic
“read, recite”
Iqra, read, is the first word of the Quran revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, in the cave of Hira.
Is Iqra a girl's or a boy's name?
Iqra is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 168 girls in the UK and 146 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Iqra in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 291st among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 168 about 1 in 1,700 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 40% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 168 girls in the UK were named Iqra, making it the 291st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 451st. Its busiest year was 2003, with 240 girls.
2025 had more girls named Iqra than any year since 2011.
Half of all the girls named Iqra in the UK since 1996 were born between 2003 and 2016. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 281st in England and Wales and 474th in Scotland.
Iqra in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 168 | #291 |
| 2024 | 143 | #337 |
| 2023 | 155 | #313 |
| 2022 | 131 | #367 |
| 2021 | 119 | #415 |
| 2020 | 102 | #451 |
| 2019 | 121 | #396 |
| 2018 | 110 | #443 |
| 2017 | 116 | #423 |
| 2016 | 136 | #375 |
| 2015 | 135 | #379 |
| 2014 | 149 | #336 |
| 2013 | 155 | #334 |
| 2012 | 161 | #332 |
| 2011 | 188 | #292 |
| 2010 | 176 | #297 |
| 2009 | 184 | #283 |
| 2008 | 171 | #307 |
| 2007 | 199 | #272 |
| 2006 | 200 | #264 |
| 2005 | 190 | #262 |
| 2004 | 188 | #262 |
| 2003 | 240 | #212 |
| 2002 | 238 | #202 |
| 2001 | 196 | #233 |
| 2000 | 149 | #285 |
| 1999 | 143 | #288 |
| 1998 | 147 | #289 |
| 1997 | 124 | #326 |
| 1996 | 107 | #360 |
How popular is Iqra in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,467th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 146 about 1 in 11,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 89% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 146 girls in the US were named Iqra, making it the 1,467th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,394th. It first appears in the records in 1990.
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 5 years. 2025 had the most girls named Iqra of any year since it first appeared, in 1990.
Half of all the girls named Iqra in the US since 1880 were born between 2005 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Iqra in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 146 | #1,467 |
| 2024 | 137 | #1,553 |
| 2023 | 128 | #1,627 |
| 2022 | 111 | #1,828 |
| 2021 | 96 | #2,007 |
| 2020 | 73 | #2,394 |
| 2019 | 77 | #2,331 |
| 2018 | 68 | #2,557 |
| 2017 | 61 | #2,779 |
| 2016 | 65 | #2,667 |
| 2015 | 60 | #2,890 |
| 2014 | 61 | #2,807 |
| 2013 | 45 | #3,463 |
| 2012 | 54 | #3,093 |
| 2011 | 49 | #3,302 |
| 2010 | 36 | #4,106 |
| 2009 | 26 | #5,377 |
| 2008 | 27 | #5,277 |
| 2007 | 32 | #4,566 |
| 2006 | 23 | #5,708 |
| 2005 | 27 | #4,824 |
| 2004 | 30 | #4,488 |
| 2003 | 23 | #5,230 |
| 2002 | 37 | #3,591 |
| 2001 | 48 | #2,959 |
| 2000 | 40 | #3,329 |
| 1999 | 36 | #3,440 |
| 1998 | 39 | #3,170 |
| 1997 | 24 | #4,367 |
| 1996 | 29 | #3,718 |
| 1995 | 25 | #4,094 |
| 1994 | 27 | #3,887 |
| 1993 | 28 | #3,771 |
| 1992 | 25 | #4,082 |
| 1991 | 16 | #5,653 |
| 1990 | 7 | #10,187 |
Names like Iqra
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Hafsa, Hiba, Zainab, Aaliyah, Rahma, Huda, Ayah, Halima, Aqsa, Amira, Isra
Other spellings of Iqra
Names related to Iqra
More Arabic names
Muhammad, Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Amir, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Aisha, Omar, Zahra, Hamza, Kairo
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, “Iqra: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/iqra, updated 20 October 2026.