Fun Facts About the Name Murat
- 369 babies named Murat: U.S. records list 369 babies given the name Murat from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Murat Mean?
Murat is the Turkish form of the Arabic name Murād (مراد), which means "wished for" or "desired." It comes from the Arabic verb arāda, "to want, to wish, to desire," and murād is the passive participle of that verb, so the literal sense is "the one who is desired" or "that which is wished for." In everyday Arabic, murād is also the ordinary noun for "aim," "purpose," or "intention." Arabic speakers generally write the name as Murad, while Turkish uses Murat; both reflect the same Arabic word, and the difference is one of spelling and pronunciation rather than of meaning. The understanding of the name as "longed-for child" is a customary reading built on the basic sense of wishing, not a separate etymology.
Murat Name History & Origins
Murat came into Turkish from Arabic, and the Turkish and Arabic forms, Murat and Murad, have existed side by side for centuries. Because the name traveled with the Ottoman state and with Muslim settlement more broadly, it is found in Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Iran, and Central Asia, and among Tatar, Bashkir, and other Muslim communities in Russia. In early modern European writing, the Ottoman sultans' name was often rendered as Amurath, an older borrowing of the same name into Western languages.
The name is closely tied to the Ottoman dynasty. Murad I ruled from about 1362 until he was killed at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Murad II ruled from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451, and his armies defeated a crusading force at Varna in 1444. Later sultans named Murad III (1574 - 1595), Murad IV (1623 - 1640), and Murad V (1876) followed. The repeated use of the name in the ruling house made it familiar throughout Ottoman lands, and it appears in the naming traditions of several of the peoples the empire governed, including Bosniaks, Albanians, and various Caucasian and Turkic groups. The same Arabic word also entered Persian usage as Murad. Today Murat remains a common given name in Turkey and in Turkic-speaking regions, where it is the standard spelling.
How Popular is the Name Murat?
Murat 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 2014. Its best rank was #4,261 in 1969.
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 | #9,438 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #10,541 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #9,463 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #7,580 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #6,968 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2020 | #9,277 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2019 | #6,663 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #8,614 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #8,618 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2016 | #7,458 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #8,502 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #5,402 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2013 | #6,502 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2012 | #9,437 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2011 | #9,339 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2010 | #6,963 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #6,323 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2008 | #12,094 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #6,160 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2006 | #8,517 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 2005 | #8,097 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2003 | #6,138 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #9,091 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #6,781 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2000 | #8,827 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1999 | #7,642 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1998 | #7,320 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #10,042 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1992 | #7,166 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1991 | #6,335 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #7,790 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #6,242 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #6,683 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #7,004 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #4,377 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1982 | #5,422 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #4,816 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1974 | #5,749 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #4,360 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #4,790 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1971 | #5,419 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #4,261 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #4,340 | 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 Murat 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.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Murat's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Murat's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.