TEHRAN – The National Organization for Civil Registration in Iran began its activities on December 25, 1918, issuing the first Iranian identity card for a girl named “Fatemeh Irani” in Tehran.

Prior to 1918, vital events such as births and deaths were recorded based on religious beliefs and traditions in the country, by writing the name and date of birth on the back cover of holy books, including the Holy Quran. So, there was no trace of the deceased except for the name and date of their death, which was written on the tombstone.

With the spread of human culture and knowledge, the increasing development of cities and villages, and population growth, the need for an organization to record vital events became inevitable and gradually the idea of forming an organization in charge of registering births and deaths as well as issuing birth certificates for the citizens became apparent.

Registration of births and deaths, and issuance of certificates, replacement of birth certificates, registration of marriages and divorces, issuance of birth certificates for foreign nationals, and establishment of a demographic database and population statistics, are among the main activities of the organization.

852,084 infants born within 9 months

Over the first nine months of the current [Iranian calendar] year (March 21 - December 20), 852,084 babies were born and their births were registered, including, 440,276 boys and 412,808 girls, Seifollah Aboutorabi, the National Organization for Civil Registration spokesman, said on Wednesday.

Some 397,501 deaths were also recorded over the aforementioned period, of which 224,752 were men and 171,648 were women. The average age of men who died during this period was 63 years and the average age of women was 67 years, he noted.

He went on to state that 307,349 marriages and 99,679 divorces have been registered in the country during the first seven months of the current [Iranian calendar] year (March 21-October 21).

Most popular Iranian baby names

"Fatemeh" and "Amir-Ali" were respectively the most popular names for baby girls and boys born in Iran during the first nine months of this year, Aboutorabi said.

Over the aforementioned period, Iranian parents chose Amir-Ali, Mohammad, Ali, Amir-Hossein, Hossein, Abolfazl, Arad, Aria, Samyar, and Amir-Abbas more than other names for their baby boys, he added.

Meanwhile, Fatemeh, Zahra, Rasta, Helma, Zeinab, Ava, Mersana, Yasna, Reyhaneh and Nazanin-Zahra were the top ten names for baby girls, he stated.

Over 12,000 twins born in Iran

During the first nine months of this year, about 12,799 twin births registered across the country, he announced.

Some 380 triplet births and 12 higher-order multiple births happened in the country last year, Aboutorabi said.

115 birth certificates issued to babies born to Iranian mothers, foreign fathers

According to Aboutorabi, 115 birth certificates have been issued so far after the implementation of the law determining the citizenship of children born to Iranian women married to foreign nationals.

Birth certificates have been issued to 84 children born to Iranian mothers and foreign fathers since November 18.

According to the Government of Iran, nearly 75,000 children at risk of becoming statelessness are eligible for Iranian citizenship under a new nationality law, which was amended in 2019 to allow children under 18 years to apply for identity documents.

According to official figures, 28,000 children below the age of 18 years have filed applications to receive birth certificates and a nationality.

According to article one of the law, children of Iranian women and non-Iranian men who were born before or after the law can be an Iranian citizen in case the Iranian mother requested if they have no security problem before the age of 18.

These children, after reaching the age of 18, can apply for Iranian citizenship if not requested by the mother, then will be granted Iranian citizenship in case of no security problem.

FB/MG