Meir
Meir is a boys' name of Hebrew origin meaning “one who shines, illuminates.” It ranked #948 in the United States in 2025. Meir means 'one who gives light' or 'one who shines.
how do you pronounce Meir?
may-EER
Hear it spoken aloud with our AI pronunciation tool.
what does Meir mean?
The name Meir means “one who shines, illuminates.” It comes from the Hebrew language tradition.
Meir means 'one who gives light' or 'one who shines.' Rabbi Meir was one of the greatest Talmudic sages. Golda Meir (born Golda Mabovitch) led Israel as Prime Minister during the Yom Kippur War. The name carries associations with wisdom, scholarly brilliance, and courageous leadership — a light in both intellectual and political spheres.
where does the name Meir come from?
Wikipedia gives Meir as a Jewish male given name meaning 'one who shines,' also used as a surname; Wiktionary confirms this Jewish-surname sense, tracing it from a Hebrew form transliterated as me'ir, and notes it is Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, or Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, and Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer. A separate Wiktionary entry for an English surname Meir, glossed 'perhaps from pool, lake' and compared to Mears, appears to describe an unrelated homograph rather than this name.
the history of Meir
Beyond the Germanic and Italian surname forms, none of the sources fetched give further history of Meir's use as a given name, so the specific accounts of Rabbi Meir and Golda Meir found in the existing note are not confirmed here.
how popular is this name?
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2025 | #948 |
| 2024 | #908 |
| 2023 | #931 |
| 2022 | #969 |
| 2020 | #970 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset
what are the nicknames and variants of Meir?
Variants around the world
who are famous people named Meir?
- Golda Meir (Israeli Prime Minister, though born Mabovitch)
- Rabbi Meir (one of the greatest Talmudic scholars)
what names are similar to Meir?
what names go well with Meir?
Sibling names that share Meir's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
Last reviewed April 30, 2026 · Curated by HushName editorial
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