Fun Facts About the Name Meher
- 881 babies named Meher: U.S. records list 881 babies given the name Meher from 1880 through 2025. Even 12 boys received the name Meher - about 1 boy for every 72 girls.
What Does the Name Meher Mean?
Meher is a Persian name meaning "kindness," "love," and "affection." It comes from the Persian word mehr (مهر), which also means "sun." Persian mehr descends from Middle Persian mihr, which in turn goes back to Avestan mithra-, "covenant" or "agreement." In the Zoroastrian scriptures, Mithra is a divine being tied to oaths, contracts, and light, and the everyday Persian senses of love and friendship grew out of that older religious vocabulary, as did the later use of the word for the sun.
The literal root sense is "covenant," while the customary meaning of the name today is love, kindness, or affection. Because Persian mehr carries both the love and sun senses, either is sometimes offered as the name's meaning. Meher and Mehr are simply different transliterations of the same Persian word. The name is not related to the Hebrew Meir ("one who gives light"), despite the similar sound.
Meher Name History & Origins
The element mehr/mihr has been used in Iranian naming since antiquity. It appears in Old Iranian names such as Mithridates, from Old Persian Miθradāta, "given by Mithra," borne by kings of Pontus and Parthia. In the Iranian calendar, the seventh month and the sixteenth day of each month are both called Mehr, and the autumn festival of Mehregan falls on the sixteenth day of the month of Mehr.
Zoroastrians who settled in India, the Parsis, kept the name, and Meher appears among them as a given name and as part of compound names. In the Mughal period, the future empress Nur Jahan was born Mehr-un-Nissa, roughly "sun among women," a documented use of the element in a South Asian Muslim setting. In South Asia today the name is used by Muslims, Hindus, and Parsis, and it is generally feminine there, while in Iran the shorter form Mehr is also given to girls and appears in male compounds such as Mehrdad.
In the twentieth century the Indian spiritual teacher born Merwan Sheriar Irani took the name Meher Baba, which brought the form Meher to a wider English-speaking audience.
How Popular is the Name Meher?
Meher has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2021. Its best rank was #2,696 in 2021.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,714 | 64 | 0.0040% |
| 2024 | #3,851 | 39 | 0.0024% |
| 2023 | #3,067 | 54 | 0.0034% |
| 2022 | #3,350 | 48 | 0.0029% |
| 2021 | #2,696 | 64 | 0.0039% |
| 2020 | #3,167 | 50 | 0.0031% |
| 2019 | #3,430 | 46 | 0.0027% |
| 2018 | #3,597 | 43 | 0.0025% |
| 2017 | #4,452 | 32 | 0.0019% |
| 2016 | #4,697 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2015 | #4,119 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 2014 | #4,330 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 2013 | #4,715 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2012 | #5,355 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2011 | #6,270 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2010 | #4,007 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 2009 | #4,647 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2008 | #5,891 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2007 | #5,475 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2006 | #5,333 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2005 | #6,172 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2004 | #7,280 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2003 | #9,482 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #9,259 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #9,152 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #7,103 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1998 | #15,727 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #15,008 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #14,930 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #10,219 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | #10,226 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #13,801 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Meher Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Meher's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Meher's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.