Maisha
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- MY-sha
- Origin
- Swahili
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,206 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #7,883 for girls
Maisha is a girls' name of Swahili origin, meaning “life”. In 2025 it ranked 2,206th for girls in the UK (13 babies) and 7,883rd for girls in the US (13 babies).
What does Maisha mean?
Swahili
“life”
The Swahili word for life.
Is Maisha a girl's or a boy's name?
Maisha is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 13 girls in the UK and 13 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Maisha in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,206among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 13about 1 in 21,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 27% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 13 girls in the UK were named Maisha, making it the 2,206th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,046th. Its busiest year was 2003, with 57 girls.
Half of all the girls named Maisha in the UK since 1996 were born between 2002 and 2012. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
In 2025, 22 girls in the UK were given Maisha or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,274, up from #2,206 for this spelling alone.
- Maisha 13
- Mysha 9
Among girls in 2025, it was 2,137th in England and Wales.
Maisha in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | #2,206 |
| 2024 | 22 | #1,494 |
| 2023 | 17 | #1,798 |
| 2022 | 19 | #1,667 |
| 2021 | 10 | #2,658 |
| 2020 | 14 | #2,046 |
| 2019 | 14 | #2,052 |
| 2018 | 13 | #2,198 |
| 2017 | 26 | #1,356 |
| 2016 | 25 | #1,410 |
| 2015 | 15 | #1,988 |
| 2014 | 25 | #1,377 |
| 2013 | 17 | #1,798 |
| 2012 | 32 | #1,150 |
| 2011 | 29 | #1,216 |
| 2010 | 30 | #1,167 |
| 2009 | 45 | #836 |
| 2008 | 33 | #1,015 |
| 2007 | 51 | #725 |
| 2006 | 54 | #655 |
| 2005 | 52 | #661 |
| 2004 | 43 | #716 |
| 2003 | 57 | #582 |
| 2002 | 56 | #577 |
| 2001 | 52 | #596 |
| 2000 | 41 | #674 |
| 1999 | 42 | #662 |
| 1998 | 42 | #657 |
| 1997 | 22 | #1,022 |
| 1996 | 33 | #755 |
How popular is Maisha in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #7,883among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 13about 1 in 120,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 5% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 13 girls in the US were named Maisha, making it the 7,883rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,310th. Its busiest year was 1977, with 114 girls. It first appears in the records in 1968.
2025 had fewer girls named Maisha than any year since 2014.
Half of all the girls named Maisha in the US since 1880 were born between 1976 and 2001, the years shaded on the chart below.
Maisha in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | #7,883 |
| 2024 | 24 | #5,297 |
| 2023 | 23 | #5,386 |
| 2022 | 17 | #6,702 |
| 2021 | 22 | #5,569 |
| 2020 | 23 | #5,310 |
| 2019 | 21 | #5,794 |
| 2018 | 19 | #6,244 |
| 2017 | 16 | #7,088 |
| 2016 | 14 | #7,985 |
| 2015 | 16 | #7,263 |
| 2014 | 11 | #9,512 |
| 2013 | 10 | #10,230 |
| 2012 | 12 | #9,105 |
| 2011 | 18 | #6,852 |
| 2010 | 20 | #6,380 |
| 2009 | 18 | #7,063 |
| 2008 | 19 | #6,796 |
| 2007 | 22 | #6,089 |
| 2006 | 30 | #4,684 |
| 2005 | 24 | #5,261 |
| 2004 | 32 | #4,283 |
| 2003 | 20 | #5,790 |
| 2002 | 28 | #4,377 |
| 2001 | 19 | #5,817 |
| 2000 | 18 | #5,932 |
| 1999 | 20 | #5,213 |
| 1998 | 26 | #4,235 |
| 1997 | 28 | #3,894 |
| 1996 | 44 | #2,756 |
| 1995 | 35 | #3,215 |
| 1994 | 28 | #3,785 |
| 1993 | 28 | #3,771 |
| 1992 | 29 | #3,674 |
| 1991 | 17 | #5,393 |
| 1990 | 28 | #3,709 |
| 1989 | 35 | #3,039 |
| 1988 | 26 | #3,580 |
| 1987 | 32 | #2,970 |
| 1986 | 20 | #4,026 |
| 1985 | 33 | #2,803 |
| 1984 | 24 | #3,422 |
| 1983 | 31 | #2,782 |
| 1982 | 49 | #2,082 |
| 1981 | 55 | #1,935 |
| 1980 | 60 | #1,805 |
| 1979 | 65 | #1,694 |
| 1978 | 75 | #1,502 |
| 1977 | 114 | #1,118 |
| 1976 | 81 | #1,330 |
| 1975 | 78 | #1,365 |
| 1974 | 100 | #1,151 |
| 1973 | 99 | #1,127 |
| 1972 | 64 | #1,488 |
| 1971 | 34 | #2,296 |
| 1970 | 28 | #2,577 |
| 1969 | 15 | #3,618 |
| 1968 | 8 | #5,146 |
Names like Maisha
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Maha Safa Summer Faiza Saba Hiba Maya Aisha Aysha Khadija Huda Salma
Other spellings of Maisha
Names related to Maisha
More Swahili names
Zuri Imani Malaika Emani Jabari Zhuri Imara Asante Imaani Malaikah Taraji Xuri Zuriyah Johari Simba Zamani
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, “Maisha: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/maisha, updated 20 October 2026.