Idris

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 3 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Idris is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Turkish given name381K records spelled Idris4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Türkiye, Syria, Belgium, Azerbaijan

  Languages: Turkish, Azerbaijani

  Also written Idriş, I'Dris

• English given name211K records spelled Idris24 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Nigeria, United States, Germany, India

  Languages: English, German, Western Frisian

  Also written Idriş, I'Dris, Îdris, Idrîs, Ídrís

• Hindi given name82K records spelled Idris46 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Malaysia

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu, Bangla

  Also written Idrish, ইদ্রিস, Edris, ইদরিস, Idriss

• a separate given name56K records spelled Idris3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, Nigeria, Ethiopia

  Also written Idrīs, Idrîs

• French given name29K records spelled Idris12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Nigeria, Spain, Belgium

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Îdris, Idrîs, Idrïs, Iďŕįś, Ïdrîs

• Spanish given name8.8K records spelled Idris12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Nigeria, United States, Spain, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Idrís, Ïdrïs, Îdrîs, Îdrïs, Idrīs

• Sinhala given name4.5K records spelled Idris2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Nigeria, United States, India, Malaysia

  Also written Idriş

62 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Idris is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Arabic/Welsh; good man; fiery, impulsive lord

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• Welsh traditional name, derived from iud ‘lord’ + ris ‘ardent’, ‘impulsive’. It was common in the Middle Ages and earlier, and has been strongly revived since the late roth century. }

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• Name of a man mentioned twice in the Qur‘an, described as ‘a true man, a prophet’ and ‘of the righteous’. It was also the name of the founder of the first Shiite dynasty (788-974).

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A male given name from Welsh, popularized by actor Idris Elba.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Turkish, 1. Meyvesi hoş kokulu, kerestesi güzel bir kiraz türü. 2. Kur’an-ı Kerim’de adı geçen, ilk kez giysi dikip giydiği için terzilerin, ilk kez kalem kullandığı için yazarların piri sayılan İdris Peygamberin adı.

  as a word·TDK Kişi Adları Sözlüğü (official Turkish given-name dictionary)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

IN naampy — India given names from state electoral rolls (in-rolls) — 94 years between 1900–2015. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Idris Ierb. 745SAIdrisid ruler (r. 788–791)
• Idris Imad al-Dinb. 139215th-century Yemeni religious and political leader
• Idris Abdul Wakilb. 1925TZTanzanian President of Zanzibar (1925-2000)
• Idriss Débyb. 1952TDnot in their usual nameChadian former president (1952–2021)
• John Jonesb. 1957GBnot in their usual nameBritish producer, musician
• Idriss Ndele Moussab. 1959TDnot in their usual nameChadian politician (1959–2013)
• Idriss Carlos Kamenib. 1984CMnot in their usual nameCameroonian footballer (born 1984)
• Tunku Ismail Idrisb. 1984MYCrown Prince of Johor
• Eyedressb. 1990PHnot in their usual nameFilipino musician
• Idriss Saadib. 1992FRnot in their usual nameAlgerian and French footballer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 821 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Idris?

We estimate roughly 11 thousand people bear Idris (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Idris have the most bearers?

Idris is most frequently recorded in Nigeria, where it is most often spelled idris.

How common is Idris compared with other names?

In Nigeria, Idris is the 58th most common given name of 146,224 given names recorded there.

Is Idris a male or female name?

Idris is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Idris mean?

Recorded meaning: Arabic: name borne by Libyan and Kanem-Bornu rulers; associated with Islamic leadership.