Given name & surname
Munir
“a luminous man”
Munir is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “a luminous man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “a luminous man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1970. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Munir through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 845
- 845 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 44 babies
- 2025
- 41
- #3,025 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +16%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 41 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,025 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 16.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,476 as a first name in 2020; 1,472 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Munir’s family of names
In English usage, Munir has a conventional equivalent in the French form Mounir. Munir has a related form in Mounir. Munir has a related form in Muneer.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Muneervariant
- Mounirvariant · French
- Munirrlikely variant
- Mounyrvariant
- Mounearvariant
- Mouniervariant
- Mouneirvariant
- Mouneervariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Munir
- Munir El HaddadiMoroccan association football playerborn 1995
- Munir MohamediMoroccan footballerborn 1989
- Munir DarPakistani field hockey player (1935–2011)
- Munir BashirIraqi musician and oud player (1930–1997)
- Munir RedfaIraqi fighter pilot who defected to Israel (1934–1998)
- Munir MangalAfghanistani general and politician1950–2020
- Munir AbukeshekPalestinian boxerborn 1975
- Munir ShakirMufti Munir Shakir’s is a Islamic and Religious Leader (1969-2025)
- Munir al-AjlaniPolitician, writer, lawyer and scholar1912–2004
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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