Nawal
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- na-WAAL
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,163 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #3,341 for girls
Nawal is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “gift, bounty”. In 2025 it ranked 1,163rd for girls in the UK (30 babies) and 3,341st for girls in the US (46 babies).
What does Nawal mean?
Arabic
“gift, bounty”
Borne by the Egyptian writer and campaigner Nawal El Saadawi, a leading voice for women's rights in the Arab world.
Is Nawal a girl's or a boy's name?
Nawal is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 30 girls in the UK and 46 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nawal in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,163among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 30about 1 in 9,300 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 43% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 30 girls in the UK were named Nawal, making it the 1,163rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,480th. Its busiest year was 2010, with 37 girls.
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had more girls named Nawal than any year since 2013.
Half of all the girls named Nawal in the UK since 1996 were born between 2005 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 36 girls in the UK were given Nawal or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #920, up from #1,163 for this spelling alone.
- Nawal 30
- Nawaal 6
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,110th in England and Wales.
Nawal in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30 | #1,163 |
| 2024 | 25 | #1,356 |
| 2023 | 21 | #1,560 |
| 2022 | 12 | #2,277 |
| 2021 | 17 | #1,794 |
| 2020 | 22 | #1,480 |
| 2019 | 15 | #1,958 |
| 2018 | 16 | #1,904 |
| 2017 | 23 | #1,497 |
| 2016 | 23 | #1,498 |
| 2015 | 23 | #1,474 |
| 2014 | 18 | #1,722 |
| 2013 | 31 | #1,188 |
| 2012 | 24 | #1,430 |
| 2011 | 22 | #1,467 |
| 2010 | 37 | #989 |
| 2009 | 28 | #1,179 |
| 2008 | 30 | #1,090 |
| 2007 | 33 | #985 |
| 2006 | 30 | #1,019 |
| 2005 | 33 | #900 |
| 2004 | 22 | #1,154 |
| 2003 | 27 | #965 |
| 2002 | 16 | #1,333 |
| 2001 | 16 | #1,325 |
| 2000 | 18 | #1,182 |
| 1999 | 4 | #3,374 |
| 1998 | 17 | #1,238 |
| 1997 | 6 | #2,552 |
| 1996 | 8 | #2,012 |
How popular is Nawal in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #3,341among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 46about 1 in 35,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 18% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 46 girls in the US were named Nawal, making it the 3,341st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,399th. Its busiest year was 2019, with 60 girls. It first appears in the records in 1976.
2025 had more girls named Nawal than any year since 2019.
Half of all the girls named Nawal in the US since 1880 were born between 2002 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Nawal in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 46 | #3,341 |
| 2024 | 43 | #3,575 |
| 2023 | 30 | #4,562 |
| 2022 | 38 | #3,891 |
| 2021 | 37 | #3,933 |
| 2020 | 45 | #3,399 |
| 2019 | 60 | #2,784 |
| 2018 | 41 | #3,676 |
| 2017 | 52 | #3,091 |
| 2016 | 41 | #3,707 |
| 2015 | 47 | #3,389 |
| 2014 | 49 | #3,270 |
| 2013 | 51 | #3,165 |
| 2012 | 58 | #2,934 |
| 2011 | 38 | #3,915 |
| 2010 | 45 | #3,515 |
| 2009 | 36 | #4,195 |
| 2008 | 40 | #3,935 |
| 2007 | 38 | #4,049 |
| 2006 | 40 | #3,794 |
| 2005 | 41 | #3,583 |
| 2004 | 48 | #3,176 |
| 2003 | 45 | #3,228 |
| 2002 | 40 | #3,390 |
| 2001 | 33 | #3,860 |
| 2000 | 30 | #4,074 |
| 1999 | 29 | #3,966 |
| 1998 | 24 | #4,489 |
| 1997 | 25 | #4,236 |
| 1996 | 17 | #5,526 |
| 1995 | 11 | #7,509 |
| 1994 | 10 | #8,116 |
| 1993 | 14 | #6,257 |
| 1992 | 15 | #6,001 |
| 1991 | 9 | #8,580 |
| 1990 | 13 | #6,459 |
| 1989 | 7 | #9,675 |
| 1988 | 7 | #9,239 |
| 1987 | 7 | #8,773 |
| 1986 | 12 | #5,754 |
| 1985 | 6 | #9,304 |
| 1984 | 8 | #7,396 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 9 | #6,886 |
| 1981 | 7 | #8,126 |
| 1980 | 6 | #9,093 |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 11 | #5,562 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 5 | #9,282 |
Names like Nawal
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa Zainab Aaliyah Hafsa Ayah Hiba Rahma Nusaybah Amal Sumayyah Safaa Huda
Other spellings of Nawal
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, “Nawal: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nawal, updated 20 October 2026.