Farah
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- FAH-ra
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #732 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #1,348 for girls
- Style
- Big in Northern Ireland
Farah is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “joy, happiness”. In 2025 it ranked 732nd for girls in the UK (55 babies) and 1,348th for girls in the US (164 babies).
What does Farah mean?
Arabic
“joy, happiness”
The Arabic word for joy, used as a name across the Arabic- and Persian-speaking world.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Farah a girl's or a boy's name?
Farah is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 55 girls in the UK and 164 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Farah in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 732nd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 55 about 1 in 5,100 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 6% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 55 girls in the UK were named Farah, making it the 732nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,033rd. Its busiest year was 2009, with 94 girls.
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Farah than any year since 2020.
Half of all the girls named Farah in the UK since 1996 were born between 2003 and 2017. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 778th in England and Wales, 539th in Scotland and 397th in Northern Ireland.
Farah in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 55 | #732 |
| 2024 | 56 | #725 |
| 2023 | 59 | #671 |
| 2022 | 67 | #621 |
| 2021 | 60 | #688 |
| 2020 | 35 | #1,033 |
| 2019 | 64 | #663 |
| 2018 | 61 | #714 |
| 2017 | 65 | #687 |
| 2016 | 66 | #689 |
| 2015 | 81 | #574 |
| 2014 | 81 | #573 |
| 2013 | 64 | #686 |
| 2012 | 87 | #538 |
| 2011 | 93 | #503 |
| 2010 | 66 | #646 |
| 2009 | 94 | #487 |
| 2008 | 79 | #536 |
| 2007 | 71 | #570 |
| 2006 | 77 | #528 |
| 2005 | 68 | #537 |
| 2004 | 66 | #534 |
| 2003 | 68 | #516 |
| 2002 | 72 | #478 |
| 2001 | 76 | #451 |
| 2000 | 63 | #509 |
| 1999 | 62 | #521 |
| 1998 | 42 | #657 |
| 1997 | 61 | #515 |
| 1996 | 70 | #465 |
How popular is Farah in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,348th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 164 about 1 in 9,800 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 12% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 164 girls in the US were named Farah, making it the 1,348th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,422nd. Its busiest year was 2012, with 178 girls. It first appears in the records in 1960.
Half of all the girls named Farah in the US since 1880 were born between 1989 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
Farah in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 164 | #1,348 |
| 2024 | 167 | #1,363 |
| 2023 | 173 | #1,310 |
| 2022 | 157 | #1,431 |
| 2021 | 159 | #1,379 |
| 2020 | 153 | #1,422 |
| 2019 | 120 | #1,724 |
| 2018 | 177 | #1,288 |
| 2017 | 143 | #1,534 |
| 2016 | 157 | #1,465 |
| 2015 | 172 | #1,372 |
| 2014 | 152 | #1,471 |
| 2013 | 166 | #1,391 |
| 2012 | 178 | #1,322 |
| 2011 | 164 | #1,392 |
| 2010 | 151 | #1,489 |
| 2009 | 129 | #1,710 |
| 2008 | 140 | #1,620 |
| 2007 | 118 | #1,804 |
| 2006 | 130 | #1,627 |
| 2005 | 111 | #1,766 |
| 2004 | 118 | #1,642 |
| 2003 | 129 | #1,508 |
| 2002 | 130 | #1,467 |
| 2001 | 92 | #1,883 |
| 2000 | 88 | #1,919 |
| 1999 | 105 | #1,594 |
| 1998 | 86 | #1,798 |
| 1997 | 84 | #1,782 |
| 1996 | 85 | #1,750 |
| 1995 | 77 | #1,832 |
| 1994 | 74 | #1,900 |
| 1993 | 101 | #1,536 |
| 1992 | 70 | #1,960 |
| 1991 | 89 | #1,663 |
| 1990 | 92 | #1,613 |
| 1989 | 114 | #1,347 |
| 1988 | 92 | #1,476 |
| 1987 | 92 | #1,423 |
| 1986 | 77 | #1,561 |
| 1985 | 77 | #1,561 |
| 1984 | 83 | #1,397 |
| 1983 | 60 | #1,770 |
| 1982 | 72 | #1,608 |
| 1981 | 79 | #1,515 |
| 1980 | 72 | #1,605 |
| 1979 | 62 | #1,753 |
| 1978 | 66 | #1,614 |
| 1977 | 172 | #854 |
| 1976 | 173 | #803 |
| 1975 | 78 | #1,365 |
| 1974 | 47 | #1,848 |
| 1973 | 35 | #2,223 |
| 1972 | 36 | #2,135 |
| 1971 | 20 | #3,266 |
| 1970 | 21 | #3,110 |
| 1969 | 30 | #2,350 |
| 1968 | 19 | #2,969 |
| 1967 | 10 | #4,299 |
| 1966 | 13 | #3,557 |
| 1965 | 7 | #5,288 |
| 1964 | 12 | #3,878 |
| 1963 | 13 | #3,634 |
| 1962 | 14 | #3,437 |
| 1961 | 12 | #3,792 |
| 1960 | 19 | #2,819 |
Names like Farah
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Zainab, Aaliyah, Ayah, Summer, Sumayyah, Ruqayyah, Hiba, Faiza, Nusaybah, Hafsa, Aaminah
Names related to Farah
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), 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, “Farah: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/farah, updated 20 October 2026.