Imani

What Imani means

Means “faith, belief”

Borrowed from Swahili, from imani (“faith, belief”), from Arabic إِيمَان (ʔīmān).

Source: Wiktionary, “Imani” (revision 93552343), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Imani?

US: Steady: #533 in 2015, #579 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #794 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1998, when 1,222 girls got the name (#253 that year). First in the US records in 1970.

How common

• About 1 in 3,139 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 4,293 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MS (1.69 per 1,000 girls), NV (0.98 per 1,000 girls), LA (0.92 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Imani is #579 in the US and #650 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 92.6% of US babies named Imani were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the US pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Amani419 US · 66 E&W
• Emani160 US · 9 E&W
• Emoni65 US
• Amoni43 US
• Amana22 US · 10 E&W
• Amaani10 US · 13 E&W
• Ahmani20 US
• Imana12 US · 7 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Imani

Girls

• Madeline#81Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #81 vs #304 in 2025
• Summer#151Editor’s note Up from #193 in 2015 to #151 in 2025 in the US
• Bailey#208“outer castle wall”^*
• Madison#40Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1970, with 5 babies
• Savannah#135From the word “savannah”^*
• Selena#268“heavenly”^*

For a brother

• Cole#182“coal, coal-black”^*
• Hunter#130From the word “hunter”^*
• Grant#228“big, large”^*
• Andres#200Spanish form of Andrew, meaning “manly”^*
• Nicolas#177Variant of Nicholas, meaning “victory + people”^*
• Riley#207“rye + clearing, meadow”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Imani’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.