boy's name
Iker
EE-ker
- Origin Basque
- Gender Boy
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 19,377
the United States
#390
2025 births
Iker is a boy's name of Basque origin meaning "visitation". It was coined in the twentieth century by the writer Sabino Arana as a Basque equivalent for a Marian title, and it is one of very few modern names to become a national favorite.
- Iker is a name of Basque origin.
- Peaked in 2015, when 2,176 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,068 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1998.
Iker over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1990s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 |
| 2000s | 619 |
| 2010s | 13,459 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,845 |
What Iker means
Iker means visitation, in the specific religious sense of the Virgin's visitation to Elizabeth. It was built from a Basque root rather than inherited, which makes it a deliberate creation with an exact intended meaning.
Where Iker comes from
Iker was coined by Sabino Arana, founder of Basque nationalism, as part of a project to supply Basque equivalents for Spanish Catholic names — a self-conscious effort to give the language a full naming stock of its own. He built it on the root ikertu, to visit or to investigate, to render Visitación. The project produced many names now in ordinary use across the Basque Country and Spain, including Ainhoa and Aitor. Iker Casillas, the goalkeeper who captained Spain to the 2010 World Cup, carried it internationally. It appears in our records from 1998.
Iker in use
Iker charts in only three of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2015.
How popular is Iker?
In 2025, Iker was given to 815 babies in the United States, ranking #390 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Iker is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Iker
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Iker also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Iker over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Iker
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Iker — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Iker
What does the name Iker mean?
Visitation, from the Basque ikertu, to visit. It was coined to render the Marian title Visitación.
Is Iker an old name?
No. It was created in the twentieth century by Sabino Arana as part of a deliberate project to build a Basque naming stock.
How do you pronounce Iker?
EE-ker, with the stress on the first syllable.
How popular is the name Iker?
In 2025, Iker was given to 815 babies in the United States, ranking #390 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Iker a girl's or a boy's name?
Iker is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Iker most popular?
Iker peaked in 2015, when 2,176 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Iker a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Iker currently ranks #390 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.