Imran — Name Meaning in Islam

Root: ع-م-ر (ʿ-m-r), "to live long, to inhabit, to build a place up so that it thrives" — the same root as Umar. ʿImrān is the fiʿlān pattern, a verbal noun: the act of settling and cultivating a place until it flourishes, prosperity as something done rather than received.

From the same root: ʿumr (a lifespan), ʿumra (the lesser pilgrimage), ʿimāra (building), maʿmūr (inhabited and thriving), iʿmār (development), ʿĀmir, ʿAmmār, Umar.

Who carried it: Imran, named in the Qur'an as the father of Maryam — she is called Maryam ibnat ʿImrān (at-Tahrim 66:12), and the vow her mother made is recorded as the words of imraʾat ʿImrān (Al Imran 3:35). The third chapter of the Qur'an is named for his household: Āl ʿImrān, the Family of Imran, whom Allah chose above the worlds together with Adam, Nuh and the family of Ibrahim (3:33).

Note: in Israelite tradition the father of Musa also bears this name (Amram). The Qur'an does not name Musa's father, and the commentators hold these to be two men separated by generations who share a name.

Spellings: Imran, Emran, İmran (Turkish), Imran (Indonesian), Imran (Urdu), Imrane (Maghrebi), عمران.

Pronunciation: ʿim-RĀN, opening with ʿayn, stress on the long second syllable.