Safiyah
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- sa-FEE-ya
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #884 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #4,545 for girls
Safiyah is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “pure, chosen”. In 2025 it ranked 884th for girls in the UK (43 babies) and 4,545th for girls in the US (30 babies).
What does Safiyah mean?
Arabic: spelling of Safiyya
“pure, chosen”
A spelling of Safiyya; Safiyya bint Huyayy was one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad.
Is Safiyah a girl's or a boy's name?
Safiyah is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 43 girls in the UK and 30 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Safiyah in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 884th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 43 about 1 in 6,500 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 11% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 43 girls in the UK were named Safiyah, making it the 884th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 845th. Its busiest year was 2014, with 52 girls.
Half of all the girls named Safiyah in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2020. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
In 2025, 274 girls in the UK were given Safiyah or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #213, up from #884 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 834th in England and Wales.
Safiyah in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 43 | #884 |
| 2024 | 42 | #907 |
| 2023 | 46 | #843 |
| 2022 | 30 | #1,187 |
| 2021 | 37 | #1,011 |
| 2020 | 46 | #845 |
| 2019 | 38 | #1,004 |
| 2018 | 34 | #1,098 |
| 2017 | 33 | #1,127 |
| 2016 | 34 | #1,096 |
| 2015 | 30 | #1,216 |
| 2014 | 52 | #812 |
| 2013 | 48 | #848 |
| 2012 | 39 | #999 |
| 2011 | 43 | #903 |
| 2010 | 36 | #1,004 |
| 2009 | 38 | #947 |
| 2008 | 32 | #1,034 |
| 2007 | 24 | #1,243 |
| 2006 | 44 | #772 |
| 2005 | 31 | #943 |
| 2004 | 23 | #1,112 |
| 2003 | 28 | #951 |
| 2002 | 14 | #1,475 |
| 2001 | 27 | #910 |
| 2000 | 16 | #1,290 |
| 1999 | 20 | #1,103 |
| 1998 | 18 | #1,199 |
| 1997 | 11 | #1,664 |
| 1996 | 17 | #1,179 |
How popular is Safiyah in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 4,545th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 30 about 1 in 54,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 24% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 30 girls in the US were named Safiyah, making it the 4,545th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,755th. Its busiest year was 2023, with 47 girls. It first appears in the records in 1985.
2025 had fewer girls named Safiyah than any year since 2020.
Half of all the girls named Safiyah in the US since 1880 were born between 2004 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 262 girls in the US were given Safiyah or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #904, up from #4,545 for this spelling alone.
Safiyah in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30 | #4,545 |
| 2024 | 33 | #4,293 |
| 2023 | 47 | #3,386 |
| 2022 | 37 | #3,961 |
| 2021 | 45 | #3,434 |
| 2020 | 27 | #4,755 |
| 2019 | 32 | #4,342 |
| 2018 | 30 | #4,560 |
| 2017 | 29 | #4,693 |
| 2016 | 32 | #4,422 |
| 2015 | 29 | #4,724 |
| 2014 | 30 | #4,655 |
| 2013 | 22 | #5,831 |
| 2012 | 27 | #5,112 |
| 2011 | 26 | #5,205 |
| 2010 | 22 | #5,975 |
| 2009 | 17 | #7,338 |
| 2008 | 18 | #7,069 |
| 2007 | 22 | #6,089 |
| 2006 | 22 | #5,904 |
| 2005 | 18 | #6,523 |
| 2004 | 26 | #4,945 |
| 2003 | 20 | #5,790 |
| 2002 | 24 | #4,902 |
| 2001 | 21 | #5,359 |
| 2000 | 14 | #7,152 |
| 1999 | 8 | #10,338 |
| 1998 | 7 | #11,132 |
| 1997 | 10 | #8,329 |
| 1996 | 13 | #6,718 |
| 1995 | 8 | #9,548 |
| 1994 | 6 | #11,771 |
| 1993 | 11 | #7,491 |
| 1992 | 5 | #13,308 |
| 1991 | 5 | #13,139 |
| 1990 | 9 | #8,495 |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 6 | #10,381 |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 5 | #10,907 |
| 1985 | 6 | #9,304 |
Names like Safiyah
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aaliyah, Safa, Sumayyah, Zainab, Ruqayyah, Nusaybah, Ayah, Aafiyah, Safaa, Hafsa, Hiba, Abeeha
Other spellings of Safiyah
Names related to Safiyah
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, “Safiyah: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/safiyah, updated 20 October 2026.