| Kabir | Ishaan | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Great | The sun; lord |
| Origin | Sanskrit | sanskrit |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | kah-BEER | i-SHAAN |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1976 | 1990 |
| Peak year | 2021 (284) | 2019 (289) |
| In 2025 | 227 | 266 |
| Trend | Rising | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Kabir | Ishaan |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,464 | 1,584 |
| 2010s | 1,373 | 2,585 |
| 2000s | 471 | 1,216 |
| 1990s | 178 | 77 |
| 1980s | 86 | 0 |
| 1970s | 29 | 0 |
Kabir means “great,” shared with the revered 15th-century poet-saint Kabir.
From Sanskrit ishana (ईशान), 'ruler, master', also a name of the sun and an epithet of Shiva (lord of the northeast direction). Glossed both as 'the sun' and 'lord/ruler'.
Ishaan is more popular than Kabir today: about 266 US babies were given the name Ishaan in 2025, compared with 227 named Kabir.
Kabir means Great (Sanskrit origin), while Ishaan means The sun; lord (sanskrit origin).
In US records, Kabir first appears in 1976 and Ishaan in 1990, so Kabir has the longer recorded history.