Mahbuba
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- mah-BOO-bah
- Origin
- Arabic
Mahbuba is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “beloved”. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Mahbuba mean?
Arabic: feminine of Mahbub
“beloved”
Feminine form of Mahbub, from the Arabic root h-b-b, 'to love'.
Is Mahbuba a girl's or a boy's name?
Mahbuba is a girls' name.
How popular is Mahbuba in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2001, with 10 girls.
Half of all the girls named Mahbuba in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2006. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Mahbuba in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4 | #4,980 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 3 | #5,801 |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 4 | #4,494 |
| 2006 | 4 | #4,357 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 4 | #3,916 |
| 2003 | 4 | #3,768 |
| 2002 | 3 | #4,284 |
| 2001 | 10 | #1,832 |
| 2000 | 3 | #4,074 |
| 1999 | 4 | #3,374 |
| 1998 | 5 | #2,855 |
| 1997 | 3 | #3,991 |
| 1996 | 3 | #3,935 |
Names like Mahbuba
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Faiza Habiba Saba Safia Sabiha Humaira Aysha Fariha Salma Nafisa Samira Fatma
More Arabic names
Muhammad Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amir Amira Fatima Ali Yahya Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra
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, “Mahbuba: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/mahbuba, updated 20 October 2026.