Yahya
Boy · YAH-ya · Arabic
Yahya is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “he lives”. In 2025 it ranked 89th for boys in the UK (652 babies) and 615th for boys in the US (455 babies).
What does Yahya mean?
Arabic: Quranic name of John the Baptist
“he lives”
The Quranic name of John the Baptist, son of the prophet Zakariya; in Arabic it is usually understood as he lives.
- Say it
- YAH-ya
More on Wiktionary.
Is Yahya a girl's or a boy's name?
Yahya is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 652 boys in the UK and 455 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Yahya in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #89among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 652about 1 in 460 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 66% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 3%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 652 boys in the UK were named Yahya, making it the 89th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 163rd.
It has been given to more boys each year for the last 7 years. 2025 had the most boys named Yahya of any year since the records began in 1996.
Half of all the boys named Yahya in the UK since 1996 were born between 2013 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 81st in England and Wales and 163rd in Scotland.
In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 2024 (#93).
Yahya in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 652 | #89 |
| 2024 | 600 | #102 |
| 2023 | 432 | #140 |
| 2022 | 391 | #153 |
| 2021 | 387 | #161 |
| 2020 | 370 | #163 |
| 2019 | 327 | #179 |
| 2018 | 320 | #187 |
| 2017 | 332 | #184 |
| 2016 | 337 | #188 |
| 2015 | 289 | #222 |
| 2014 | 299 | #217 |
| 2013 | 240 | #236 |
| 2012 | 246 | #232 |
| 2011 | 190 | #279 |
| 2010 | 196 | #269 |
| 2009 | 134 | #337 |
| 2008 | 151 | #305 |
| 2007 | 111 | #364 |
| 2006 | 114 | #337 |
| 2005 | 83 | #403 |
| 2004 | 66 | #458 |
| 2003 | 70 | #414 |
| 2002 | 51 | #481 |
| 2001 | 21 | #871 |
| 2000 | 32 | #636 |
| 1999 | 24 | #755 |
| 1998 | 24 | #749 |
| 1997 | 24 | #741 |
| 1996 | 26 | #662 |
How popular is Yahya in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #615among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 455about 1 in 3,800 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 72% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 455 boys in the US were named Yahya, making it the 615th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,005th. It first appears in the records in 1972.
It has been given to more boys each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had the most boys named Yahya of any year since it first appeared, in 1972.
Half of all the boys named Yahya in the US since 1880 were born between 2011 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 505 boys in the US were given Yahya or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #562, up from #615 for this spelling alone.
- Yahya 455
- Yahia 50
Yahya in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 455 | #615 |
| 2024 | 379 | #707 |
| 2023 | 265 | #881 |
| 2022 | 243 | #940 |
| 2021 | 195 | #1,085 |
| 2020 | 210 | #1,005 |
| 2019 | 226 | #949 |
| 2018 | 202 | #1,018 |
| 2017 | 230 | #920 |
| 2016 | 224 | #935 |
| 2015 | 211 | #977 |
| 2014 | 167 | #1,137 |
| 2013 | 173 | #1,080 |
| 2012 | 158 | #1,155 |
| 2011 | 130 | #1,309 |
| 2010 | 113 | #1,456 |
| 2009 | 133 | #1,309 |
| 2008 | 94 | #1,639 |
| 2007 | 90 | #1,681 |
| 2006 | 80 | #1,738 |
| 2005 | 67 | #1,885 |
| 2004 | 55 | #2,127 |
| 2003 | 47 | #2,265 |
| 2002 | 35 | #2,681 |
| 2001 | 56 | #1,931 |
| 2000 | 43 | #2,252 |
| 1999 | 30 | #2,791 |
| 1998 | 24 | #3,187 |
| 1997 | 25 | #2,976 |
| 1996 | 20 | #3,400 |
| 1995 | 13 | #4,502 |
| 1994 | 15 | #4,088 |
| 1993 | 9 | #5,764 |
| 1992 | 21 | #3,099 |
| 1991 | 17 | #3,456 |
| 1990 | 7 | #6,408 |
| 1989 | 9 | #5,158 |
| 1988 | 10 | #4,445 |
| 1987 | 5 | #6,945 |
| 1986 | 16 | #3,002 |
| 1985 | 11 | #3,802 |
| 1984 | 8 | #4,549 |
| 1983 | 13 | #3,229 |
| 1982 | 10 | #3,964 |
| 1981 | 6 | #5,466 |
| 1980 | 8 | #4,493 |
| 1979 | 6 | #5,353 |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 5 | #5,843 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 7 | #3,960 |
Names like Yahya
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Musa Muhammad Ibrahim Hamza Yusuf Mustafa Abdullah Zayd Ahmed Zayan Umar Rayyan
Other spellings of Yahya
Yahia Yahyaa
Names related to Yahya
More Arabic names
Layla Mohammed Lyla Mohammad Zara Aaliyah Amir Amira Fatima Ali Zayn Aisha Omar Zahra Kairo Safa