Fatou
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- FAH-too
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #4,935 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #2,957 for girls
Fatou is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “one who abstains”. In 2025 it ranked 4,935th for girls in the UK (4 babies) and 2,957th for girls in the US (56 babies).
What does Fatou mean?
Arabic: West African form of Fatima
“one who abstains”
Fatou is a West African form of Fatima, the name of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter.
Is Fatou a girl's or a boy's name?
Fatou is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 4 girls in the UK and 56 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Fatou in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #4,935among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 4about 1 in 70,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 12% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 4 girls in the UK were named Fatou, making it the 4,935th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,766th. Its busiest year was 2013, with 17 girls.
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 3 years.
Half of all the girls named Fatou in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 4,866th in England and Wales.
Fatou in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | #4,935 |
| 2024 | 8 | #3,076 |
| 2023 | 11 | #2,481 |
| 2022 | 13 | #2,157 |
| 2021 | 2 | #7,411 |
| 2020 | 9 | #2,766 |
| 2019 | 7 | #3,340 |
| 2018 | 10 | #2,631 |
| 2017 | 17 | #1,833 |
| 2016 | 10 | #2,692 |
| 2015 | 15 | #1,988 |
| 2014 | 7 | #3,321 |
| 2013 | 17 | #1,798 |
| 2012 | 13 | #2,210 |
| 2011 | 8 | #3,041 |
| 2010 | 15 | #1,912 |
| 2009 | 11 | #2,298 |
| 2008 | 12 | #2,156 |
| 2007 | 15 | #1,784 |
| 2006 | 10 | #2,263 |
| 2005 | 14 | #1,692 |
| 2004 | 14 | #1,634 |
| 2003 | 8 | #2,320 |
| 2002 | 6 | #2,691 |
| 2001 | 7 | #2,341 |
| 2000 | 3 | #4,074 |
| 1999 | 4 | #3,374 |
| 1998 | 3 | #4,026 |
| 1997 | 4 | #3,345 |
| 1996 | 3 | #3,935 |
How popular is Fatou in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,957among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 56about 1 in 29,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 47% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 56 girls in the US were named Fatou, making it the 2,957th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,777th. It first appears in the records in 1991.
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had the most girls named Fatou of any year since it first appeared, in 1991.
Half of all the girls named Fatou in the US since 1880 were born between 2002 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
Fatou in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 56 | #2,957 |
| 2024 | 55 | #2,976 |
| 2023 | 45 | #3,475 |
| 2022 | 39 | #3,825 |
| 2021 | 29 | #4,603 |
| 2020 | 38 | #3,777 |
| 2019 | 30 | #4,545 |
| 2018 | 38 | #3,852 |
| 2017 | 44 | #3,478 |
| 2016 | 46 | #3,411 |
| 2015 | 39 | #3,841 |
| 2014 | 25 | #5,308 |
| 2013 | 21 | #6,014 |
| 2012 | 30 | #4,705 |
| 2011 | 36 | #4,071 |
| 2010 | 49 | #3,305 |
| 2009 | 34 | #4,369 |
| 2008 | 47 | #3,477 |
| 2007 | 44 | #3,652 |
| 2006 | 49 | #3,315 |
| 2005 | 36 | #3,938 |
| 2004 | 34 | #4,089 |
| 2003 | 53 | #2,882 |
| 2002 | 48 | #3,010 |
| 2001 | 39 | #3,413 |
| 2000 | 45 | #3,066 |
| 1999 | 39 | #3,242 |
| 1998 | 25 | #4,363 |
| 1997 | 27 | #4,004 |
| 1996 | 21 | #4,734 |
| 1995 | 22 | #4,513 |
| 1994 | 12 | #7,091 |
| 1993 | 14 | #6,257 |
| 1992 | 9 | #8,726 |
| 1991 | 5 | #13,139 |
Names like Fatou
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Zainab Aaliyah Hafsa Ayah Hiba Rahma Sumayyah Safaa Farah Ruqayyah Faiza
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, “Fatou: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/fatou, updated 20 October 2026.