Zulqarnain
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- zool-kar-NAYN
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,964 for boys
Zulqarnain is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “he of the two horns”. In 2025 it ranked 1,964th for boys in the UK (13 babies).
What does Zulqarnain mean?
Arabic: from Dhul-Qarnayn
“he of the two horns”
Dhul-Qarnayn is a righteous ruler in Surah Al-Kahf who builds a wall against Gog and Magog; some identify him with Alexander the Great.
Is Zulqarnain a girl's or a boy's name?
Zulqarnain is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 13 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Zulqarnain in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,964th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 13 about 1 in 23,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 57% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 13 boys in the UK were named Zulqarnain, making it the 1,964th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,108th.
2025 had the most boys named Zulqarnain of any year since the records began in 1996.
Half of all the boys named Zulqarnain in the UK since 1996 were born between 2015 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 1,894th in England and Wales.
Zulqarnain in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | #1,964 |
| 2024 | 11 | #2,149 |
| 2023 | 9 | #2,468 |
| 2022 | 10 | #2,279 |
| 2021 | 6 | #3,179 |
| 2020 | 6 | #3,108 |
| 2019 | 8 | #2,633 |
| 2018 | 7 | #2,823 |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 8 | #2,690 |
| 2015 | 8 | #2,614 |
| 2014 | 3 | #4,829 |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,008 |
| 2012 | 9 | #2,382 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 3 | #3,992 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 5 | #2,358 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 3 | #2,949 |
Names like Zulqarnain
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad, Zayaan, Zayd, Zayan, Mustafa, Zayn, Abdullah, Zayyan, Hussain, Musa, Amir, Huzaifa
More Arabic names
Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Aaliyah, Amira, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Aisha, Omar, Zahra, Hamza, Kairo, Safa
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Zulqarnain: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/zulqarnain, updated 20 October 2026.