Alif
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- AH-lif
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,742 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #12,003 for boys
Alif is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “the letter alif; first”. In 2025 it ranked 2,742nd for boys in the UK (8 babies) and 12,003rd for boys in the US (5 babies).
What does Alif mean?
Arabic: name of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet
“the letter alif; first”
Alif is the first letter of the Arabic alphabet; in Sufi poetry it stands for the oneness of God.
Is Alif a girl's or a boy's name?
Alif is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 boys in the UK and 5 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Alif in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,742among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 8about 1 in 37,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 15% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 8 boys in the UK were named Alif, making it the 2,742nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,025th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 9 boys.
Half of all the boys named Alif in the UK since 1996 were born between 2012 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,658th in England and Wales.
Alif in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #2,742 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 3 | #5,193 |
| 2022 | 9 | #2,457 |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 4 | #4,025 |
| 2019 | 5 | #3,597 |
| 2018 | 4 | #4,169 |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,161 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 3 | #4,955 |
| 2014 | 4 | #4,063 |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,008 |
| 2012 | 6 | #3,167 |
| 2011 | 5 | #3,446 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 3 | #4,691 |
| 2008 | 3 | #4,615 |
| 2007 | 5 | #3,231 |
How popular is Alif in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #12,003among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 5about 1 in 340,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 5 boys in the US were named Alif, making it the 12,003rd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 7,497th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 10 boys. It first appears in the records in 1973.
2025 had fewer boys named Alif than any year since 2019.
Half of all the boys named Alif in the US since 1880 were born between 2000 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Alif in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #12,003 |
| 2024 | 6 | #10,930 |
| 2023 | 6 | #10,815 |
| 2022 | 8 | #8,983 |
| 2021 | 6 | #10,794 |
| 2020 | 10 | #7,497 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 9 | #8,136 |
| 2016 | 6 | #10,739 |
| 2015 | 6 | #10,638 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 7 | #9,650 |
| 2012 | 9 | #8,152 |
| 2011 | 7 | #9,593 |
| 2010 | 5 | #12,224 |
| 2009 | 6 | #10,989 |
| 2008 | 8 | #9,013 |
| 2007 | 9 | #8,169 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 6 | #10,144 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 5 | #10,886 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 7 | #8,332 |
| 2000 | 8 | #7,409 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 6 | #7,785 |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 6 | #7,631 |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 5 | #6,260 |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 6 | #5,353 |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 7 | #4,307 |
| 1974 | 6 | #4,632 |
| 1973 | 6 | #4,503 |
Names like Alif
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad Abdullah Ahmed Musa Hamza Zayaan Zayd Azaan Zayan Mustafa Amir Umar
Names related to Alif
More Arabic names
Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Kairo Safa
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Alif: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/alif, updated 20 October 2026.