Safari
- Gender
- Mostly girls
- Say it
- sah-FAH-ree
- Origin
- Swahili
- US rank, 2025
- #8,360 for girls
Safari is a name of Swahili origin, meaning “journey”. In 2025 it ranked 8,360th for girls in the US (12 babies).
What does Safari mean?
Swahili: Swahili word, from Arabic safar 'travel'
“journey”
English borrowed the word in the 19th century for an expedition to watch or hunt animals in Africa.
Is Safari a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Safari has been given to girls and boys, mostly girls. In 2025, it was given to 12 girls and 9 boys in the US.
How popular is Safari in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #8,360among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 12about 1 in 130,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 12% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 12 girls in the US were named Safari, making it the 8,360th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 7,554th. Its busiest year was 2022, with 27 girls. It first appears in the records in 1992. 9 boys were also named Safari in 2025 (8,239th for boys).
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Safari than any year since 2019.
Half of all the girls named Safari in the US since 1880 were born between 2005 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2023, 44% of the babies named Safari in the US were girls.
Safari in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #8,360 |
| 2024 | 14 | #7,590 |
| 2023 | 19 | #6,164 |
| 2022 | 27 | #4,904 |
| 2021 | 15 | #7,245 |
| 2020 | 14 | #7,554 |
| 2019 | 11 | #9,106 |
| 2018 | 15 | #7,405 |
| 2017 | 17 | #6,804 |
| 2016 | 15 | #7,599 |
| 2015 | 23 | #5,651 |
| 2014 | 16 | #7,300 |
| 2013 | 12 | #9,031 |
| 2012 | 8 | #12,193 |
| 2011 | 17 | #7,115 |
| 2010 | 10 | #10,446 |
| 2009 | 6 | #15,236 |
| 2008 | 21 | #6,347 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 5 | #16,455 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 5 | #15,777 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 7 | #12,049 |
| 2000 | 8 | #10,738 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,233 |
| 1998 | 9 | #9,254 |
| 1997 | 5 | #13,719 |
| 1996 | 6 | #11,801 |
| 1995 | 11 | #7,509 |
| 1994 | 9 | #8,798 |
| 1993 | 12 | #7,031 |
| 1992 | 7 | #10,471 |
Names like Safari
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aaliyah Zaniyah Hadassah Safiya Salem Zaliyah Samiyah Kaliyah Naziyah Zainab Zahara Jaliyah
Names related to Safari
More Swahili names
Zuri Imani Malaika Emani Jabari Zhuri Imara Maisha Asante Imaani Malaikah Taraji Xuri Zuriyah Johari Simba
Sources
Figures from 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, “Safari: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/safari, updated 20 October 2026.