Meir - Name Meaning and Popularity -

Meaning of Meir

Meir (Hebrew: “one who gives light”) is a compact, no-nonsense name whose very sound feels like the strike of a match in a dim room. Emerging from Talmudic antiquity—Rabbi Meir remains a towering legal mind in Jewish lore—the name has wandered far beyond its Levantine hearth, slipping quietly into American birth registers each year since the 1950s. Its national rank never soars, yet, like a well-tended oil lamp in a Persian caravanserai, it refuses to go out; the recent climb from 810th in 2009 to 673rd in 2024 hints at a slow, ember-bright resurgence. Meir’s luminous meaning lends itself to modern associations with insight and innovation, while its brisk, single-syllable form suits boardrooms as easily as playgrounds. Parents who prize a heritage choice that sidesteps cliché often find in Meir the ideal middle path: recognizably Jewish yet globally pronounceable, quietly historic yet unburdened by grandeur. In short, Meir offers a steady glow rather than a blinding spotlight—a practical virtue in an age fond of sustainable brilliance.