Safiyyah
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- sa-FEE-ya
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #511 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #3,974 for girls
Safiyyah is a girls' name of Arabic origin, meaning “pure, chosen”. In 2025 it ranked 511th for girls in the UK (85 babies) and 3,974th for girls in the US (36 babies).
What does Safiyyah mean?
Arabic: spelling of Safiyya
“pure, chosen”
A spelling of Safiyya, the name of both a wife and an aunt of the Prophet Muhammad.
Is Safiyyah a girl's or a boy's name?
Safiyyah is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 85 girls in the UK and 36 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Safiyyah in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 511th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 85 about 1 in 3,300 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 10% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 85 girls in the UK were named Safiyyah, making it the 511th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 539th. Its busiest year was 2017, with 96 girls.
Half of all the girls named Safiyyah in the UK since 1996 were born between 2008 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 274 girls in the UK were given Safiyyah or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #213, up from #511 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 468th in England and Wales.
Safiyyah in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 85 | #511 |
| 2024 | 92 | #484 |
| 2023 | 72 | #578 |
| 2022 | 71 | #596 |
| 2021 | 78 | #563 |
| 2020 | 82 | #539 |
| 2019 | 63 | #669 |
| 2018 | 82 | #560 |
| 2017 | 96 | #503 |
| 2016 | 75 | #613 |
| 2015 | 86 | #546 |
| 2014 | 74 | #614 |
| 2013 | 90 | #517 |
| 2012 | 70 | #643 |
| 2011 | 73 | #608 |
| 2010 | 65 | #653 |
| 2009 | 55 | #722 |
| 2008 | 49 | #773 |
| 2007 | 54 | #699 |
| 2006 | 39 | #834 |
| 2005 | 41 | #769 |
| 2004 | 55 | #614 |
| 2003 | 43 | #711 |
| 2002 | 27 | #927 |
| 2001 | 31 | #832 |
| 2000 | 22 | #1,043 |
| 1999 | 30 | #819 |
| 1998 | 30 | #837 |
| 1997 | 25 | #940 |
| 1996 | 21 | #1,024 |
How popular is Safiyyah in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,974th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 36 about 1 in 45,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady up 10% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 36 girls in the US were named Safiyyah, making it the 3,974th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,451st. It first appears in the records in 1976.
2025 had the most girls named Safiyyah of any year since it first appeared, in 1976.
Half of all the girls named Safiyyah in the US since 1880 were born between 1994 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 262 girls in the US were given Safiyyah or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #904, up from #3,974 for this spelling alone.
Safiyyah in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 36 | #3,974 |
| 2024 | 34 | #4,206 |
| 2023 | 17 | #6,675 |
| 2022 | 21 | #5,790 |
| 2021 | 21 | #5,744 |
| 2020 | 30 | #4,451 |
| 2019 | 15 | #7,338 |
| 2018 | 34 | #4,143 |
| 2017 | 18 | #6,527 |
| 2016 | 22 | #5,794 |
| 2015 | 27 | #4,979 |
| 2014 | 19 | #6,449 |
| 2013 | 19 | #6,459 |
| 2012 | 15 | #7,800 |
| 2011 | 21 | #6,145 |
| 2010 | 15 | #7,877 |
| 2009 | 11 | #9,971 |
| 2008 | 13 | #8,961 |
| 2007 | 11 | #10,125 |
| 2006 | 22 | #5,904 |
| 2005 | 18 | #6,523 |
| 2004 | 9 | #10,684 |
| 2003 | 20 | #5,790 |
| 2002 | 10 | #9,476 |
| 2001 | 12 | #8,189 |
| 2000 | 10 | #9,156 |
| 1999 | 12 | #7,710 |
| 1998 | 22 | #4,793 |
| 1997 | 12 | #7,278 |
| 1996 | 15 | #6,059 |
| 1995 | 14 | #6,252 |
| 1994 | 8 | #9,580 |
| 1993 | 14 | #6,257 |
| 1992 | 8 | #9,483 |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 11 | #7,297 |
| 1989 | 7 | #9,675 |
| 1988 | 9 | #7,686 |
| 1987 | 7 | #8,773 |
| 1986 | 12 | #5,754 |
| 1985 | 15 | #4,858 |
| 1984 | 10 | #6,290 |
| 1983 | 11 | #5,822 |
| 1982 | 16 | #4,526 |
| 1981 | 23 | #3,532 |
| 1980 | 9 | #6,788 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,059 |
| 1978 | 10 | #5,957 |
| 1977 | 8 | #6,890 |
| 1976 | 8 | #6,609 |
Names like Safiyyah
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Aaliyah, Sumayyah, Zainab, Ruqayyah, Nusaybah, Ayah, Safaa, Hafsa, Hiba, Abeeha, Rahma
Other spellings of Safiyyah
Names related to Safiyyah
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, “Safiyyah: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/safiyyah, updated 20 October 2026.