Amir (also spelled Ameer or Emir; (Arabic: أمير , Persian: امیر , Persian pronunciation: [æmiːˈɾ], Hebrew: אמיר) is a masculine name of multi-lingual origin.
The name has different meanings in multiple languages.
In Arabic the name means prince or royal. The word originally meant "Commander (of army)". It later became a title given to a ruler's son, and hence "prince". In Arabic, the name comes from the same root as the word emir.
In Urdu (Urdu: عامر) the name has the same meaning as the original in Arabic, meaning ‘prince”.
In Persian (Persian: امير) the name means ‘immortal’. In Persian Amir has a different meaning with other languages, it consists of two parts; "A" which means "Un" and "mir" which is the root of the verb "Mordan" (to die), so Amir in Persian means "the one who [his spirit and his memory] will never die".
In Pashto (Pashto: امير) the name comes to mean ‘leader’ or ‘boss’.
In Hebrew, when spelt אמיר the name means crown (treetop). When spelt עמיר the name means a small sheaf or bundle (of grain, usually wheat or barley) [1]
Usage
Amir is most common as a given name in Iran.[2]
Amir was among the five most popular names for Black newborn boys in the American state of Virginia in 2022 and again in 2023.[3][4]
Given name
Notable persons with the name include:
- Al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah (1096–1130), tenth Fatimid Caliph and recognised as the 20th imam by the Mustaali Ismaili Shi'a sect
- Amir Abdur-Rahim (born 1981), American basketball coach
- Amir Khosrow Afshar (1919–1999), Iranian diplomat
- Amir Bageria (born 2000), Canadian actor
- Amir Bagheri (born 1978), Iranian chess grandmaster
- Amir Bell (born 1996), American basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League
- Amir Blumenfeld (born 1983), American-Israeli comedian/actor
- Ameer Bux Bhutto, Pakistani politician
- Amir Celestin (born 1990), American basketball player
- Amir Coffey (born 1997), American basketball player
- Amir Derakh, American musician
- Amir Eshel (born 1959), Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force
- Amir Farshad Ebrahimi (born 1975), former member of Ansar-e Hezbollah and currently a peace and human rights activist living in Germany
- Amir Gal-Or (born 1962), Israeli businessman and the managing partner of Infinity Group
- Amir Ganiel (1963–2018), former Israeli swimming champion and record holder in swimming
- Amir Ghalenoei (born 1963), Iranian football coach and former player
- Amir Haddad (born 1984), Israeli French singer and songwriter
- Amir Hamed (1962–2017), Uruguayan writer and translator of Lebanese descent
- Amir Hashemi (born 1966), Iranian footballer
- Amir Mirza Hekmati, alleged American CIA operative
- Amir Hinton (born 1997), American basketball player
- Amir-Abbas Hoveyda (1919–1979), Iranian economist and politician
- Amir Johnson (born 1987), American basketball player
- Amir Karara (born 1977), Egyptian actor
- Amir Karić (born 1973), Bosnian-Slovenian footballer
- Amir Reza Khadem (born 1970), Iranian wrestler
- Amir Khan (1912–1974), Hindustani classical vocalist
- Amir Khan (born 1986), British boxer
- Amir Khusrow, Indian musician, scholar and poet
- Amir Kror Suri, aka Jahan Pahlawan, Pashtun national history figure and a governor of Mandesh in Ghor
- Amir Mohebbian (born 1962), ranian politician, journalist and political analyst
- Amir Mohebi (born 1981), former Iranian footballer
- Amir Mokri (born 1956), Iranian cinematographer
- Amir Muchtari (born 1972), Israeli basketball player
- Amir Nachumi (born 1945), Israeli Air Force general
- Amir Naderi (born 1946), Iranian film director
- Amir Ohana (born 1976), Israeli politician
- Amir Peretz (born 1952), Moroccan-born Israeli politician
- Amir Hossein Rabii (1930–1979), Iranian Air Force commander
- Amir Sadollah (born 1980), retired American mixed martial arts fighter
- Amir Slama, Brazilian fashion designer
- Amir Spahić (born 1983), retired Bosnian footballer
- Ameer Speed (born 1999), American football player
- Amir Tibon (born 1989), Israeli journalist
- Amir Vahedi (1961–2010), Iranian-born American professional poker player
- Amir Wilson (born 2004), British actor
- Ameer Ali, Australian economist and community leader
- Ameer Sultan (born 1967), Tamil film director
- Ameer Vann (born 1996), former member of boy band Brockhampton
- Abdul Ameer Yousef Habeeb, Iraqi journalist
- Amir Shurush (born 1984), Arab Israeli comedian
Fictional characters
- Amir, the protagonist in The Kite Runner
- Amir Kaffarov, an antagonist in Battlefield 3, a 2011 video game
- Amir Kazim, a character in A Wedding (Noces), a 2016 film
Middle name
- Mohammad Amir Khatam (1920–1975), commander of the Iranian air force
- Tengku Amir Hamzah (1911–1946), Indonesian poet
- Tamino (musician) (born 1996), Belgian-Egyptian singer, songwriter and musician
Surname
- Eldad Amir (born 1961), Israeli Olympic competitive sailor
- Eli Amir (born 1937), Israeli writer
- Menashe Amir (born 1939), Iranian-born Israeli Persian-language broadcaster
- Mohammad Amir (born 1992), Pakistani cricketer banned for spot-fixing
- Nina Amir (born 1999), Israeli Olympic sports sailor
- Yigal Amir (born 1970), assassin of Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin
- Zainab Abdul Amir, Bahraini politician and journalist
Fictional characters
- Yusuf Amir, a character from the Grand Theft Auto game series
See also
- All pages with titles beginning with Amir
- All pages with titles containing Amir
- Amir (disambiguation)
- Amiri (surname)
- Emir (disambiguation)
- Emir (name)
- Amira (name), female version
- Aamir (disambiguation)
- Mirza
- Almir (given name)
References
- ^ "JEWISH BABY NAMES Amir אָמִיר". Kveller.com. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
- ^ "Forebears Given Names Iran".
- ^ "Virginia Department of Health's Office of Vital Records Announces Top Fifteen Baby Names of 2022, Other Interesting Virginia Birth Data".
- ^ "Virginia Department of Health's Office of Vital Records Announces Top Baby Names of 2023, Other Interesting Virginia Birth Data". 6 February 2024.