Fun Facts About the Name Murad
- More than 1 thousand babies named Murad: U.S. records list 1,132 babies given the name Murad from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Murad Mean?
Murad is an Arabic masculine name meaning "wished for" or "desired." It is the passive participle of the Arabic root ر-و-د (r - w - d): the verb arāda means "to want, wish, or intend," and murād is literally "that which is wished for" or "the object of a wish or intention." The noun irāda, from the same root, means "will" or "volition," so the name and the word for will are close relatives.
The literal sense is simply "desired, wished for." A later religious and mystical reading treats murād as the counterpart of murīd ("seeker" or "aspirant," literally "one who desires"): the murīd is the disciple who strives, and the murād is the one who is sought or desired. That pairing is a devotional interpretation of the vocabulary, not a separate origin of the name. The Turkish form of the name is Murat, which carries the same meaning.
Murad Name History & Origins
The name is common in Arabic and was carried into Turkish, Persian, and the languages of South Asia and the Balkans along with the spread of Arabic and Persian as religious and literary languages. Its most prominent European association is with the Ottoman dynasty: five sultans bore the name. Murad I ruled from about 1362 and died at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389; Murad II reigned in the first half of the fifteenth century; Murad III ruled in the late sixteenth century; Murad IV, who campaigned in the Middle East and retook Baghdad in 1638, ruled in the seventeenth century; and Murad V reigned briefly in 1876. In Ottoman Turkish the name was written مراد, and in modern standard Turkish it is spelled Murat.
The name also traveled outside the Ottoman line. Murad Bey was a Mamluk emir in Egypt who governed alongside Ibrahim Bey and whose forces were defeated by Napoleon's army at the Battle of the Pyramids in 1798. The name remains in use in Iran, Azerbaijan, the Caucasus, Pakistan, and India, as well as in Arab countries, and it is also found as a family name.
In early modern European writing the name often appears as Amurath, a rendering that English and other writers used when referring to Ottoman sultans; the form reflects how the Arabic and Turkish sounds were adapted in European spelling rather than a different name.
How Popular is the Name Murad?
Murad 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 2016. Its best rank was #2,330 in 1977.
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 | #2,825 | 45 | 0.0026% |
| 2024 | #2,975 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 2023 | #2,786 | 46 | 0.0027% |
| 2022 | #2,702 | 49 | 0.0028% |
| 2021 | #3,220 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 2020 | #3,182 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 2019 | #2,972 | 41 | 0.0023% |
| 2018 | #2,538 | 51 | 0.0028% |
| 2017 | #3,170 | 37 | 0.0020% |
| 2016 | #2,359 | 56 | 0.0030% |
| 2015 | #4,837 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2014 | #3,590 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 2013 | #3,467 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 2012 | #3,429 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2011 | #4,177 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2010 | #4,195 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2009 | #4,694 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2008 | #5,973 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 2007 | #5,355 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 2006 | #4,990 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2005 | #4,960 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2004 | #4,367 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2003 | #4,970 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #4,438 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2001 | #3,687 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2000 | #3,127 | 28 | 0.0014% |
| 1999 | #4,695 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1998 | #3,667 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1997 | #4,861 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1996 | #4,129 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1995 | #5,015 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1994 | #4,717 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1993 | #3,460 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1992 | #4,041 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1991 | #4,399 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1990 | #5,261 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1989 | #3,954 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1988 | #4,364 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1987 | #3,666 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1986 | #4,367 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #3,957 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #7,003 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #3,789 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1982 | #4,138 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #3,773 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #3,202 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1979 | #4,292 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #3,544 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1977 | #2,330 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #2,784 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1975 | #3,842 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1974 | #5,048 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #5,623 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #4,242 | 7 | 0.0004% |
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 Murad 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. Emergencies may raise your intuitive abilities in order to resolve conflict or situation. You become very creative under the pressure, and have quite original ideas to make the best out of it.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Murad's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Murad's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.