Arifa
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- AA-ri-fa
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #4,276 for girls
Arifa is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “knowing, wise”. In 2025 it ranked 4,276th for girls in the UK (5 babies).
What does Arifa mean?
Arabic: feminine of Arif
“knowing, wise”
In Sufi tradition an arif is a person who has gained deep spiritual knowledge of God.
Is Arifa a girl's or a boy's name?
Arifa is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 girls in the UK. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Arifa in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #4,276among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 5about 1 in 56,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 17% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 5 girls in the UK were named Arifa, making it the 4,276th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,744th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 15 girls.
Half of all the girls named Arifa in the UK since 1996 were born between 2004 and 2014. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 4,200th in England and Wales.
Arifa in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #4,276 |
| 2024 | 5 | #4,253 |
| 2023 | 4 | #4,915 |
| 2022 | 3 | #5,885 |
| 2021 | 5 | #4,148 |
| 2020 | 4 | #4,744 |
| 2019 | 3 | #5,804 |
| 2018 | 5 | #4,204 |
| 2017 | 5 | #4,250 |
| 2016 | 6 | #3,788 |
| 2015 | 6 | #3,777 |
| 2014 | 4 | #4,888 |
| 2013 | 8 | #3,060 |
| 2012 | 14 | #2,103 |
| 2011 | 12 | #2,265 |
| 2010 | 11 | #2,379 |
| 2009 | 12 | #2,153 |
| 2008 | 15 | #1,840 |
| 2007 | 13 | #1,964 |
| 2006 | 8 | #2,657 |
| 2005 | 10 | #2,206 |
| 2004 | 11 | #1,949 |
| 2003 | 3 | #4,560 |
| 2002 | 6 | #2,691 |
| 2001 | 3 | #4,156 |
| 2000 | 6 | #2,554 |
| 1999 | 11 | #1,653 |
| 1998 | 4 | #3,310 |
| 1997 | 4 | #3,345 |
| 1996 | 12 | #1,520 |
Names like Arifa
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Habiba Humaira Faiza Safa Salma Abeeha Afifa Areeba Safia Sabiha Afiya Aaliyah
Names related to Arifa
More Arabic names
Muhammad Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Amir Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Hamza
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Arifa: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/arifa, updated 20 October 2026.