UK boy's name
Abdirahman
Somali name meaning "servant of the Most Merciful (Allah)".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Abdirahman is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Abdirahman popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1199, with 23 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2006, with 98 births.
This profile covers 1,341 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 23% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 1,334 living people in the UK are called Abdirahman. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Abdirahman ranked #1199 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 23 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2006, when 98 boys were registered as Abdirahman.
- • Abdirahman ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #638 in 2010.
- • About 1,334 living people in the UK are estimated to have Abdirahman as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1199
2024
Births in 2024
23
Latest year
Peak year
2006
98 births
Estimated living
1,334
2026
Meaning
What does Abdirahman mean?
The name Abdirahman is a popular given name in the Somali culture, originating from the Arabic language. It is a compound name, consisting of the Arabic words "abd" meaning "servant" and "rahman" meaning "the most merciful," referring to God. The name can be translated to mean "servant of the Most Merciful."
Historically, the name has been used in the Horn of Africa region, particularly in Somalia, where the Somali people have a strong Islamic heritage and Arabic linguistic influence. The use of the name can be traced back to the early days of Islam's spread in the region, around the 7th century CE.
In Islamic tradition, the name Abdirahman is mentioned in various religious texts and scriptures, as it reflects the reverence and submission to God, a central belief in Islam. The name has been popular among Muslim communities worldwide, including in the Middle East and North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Abdirahman can be found in the historical chronicles of the Adal Sultanate, a medieval Muslim empire that existed in the Horn of Africa from the 9th to the 16th century. During this period, several prominent figures bore the name, including Abdirahman bin Ismail, a 14th-century Sultan of Adal.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Abdirahman. Some examples include:
1. Abdirahman Al-Jaylani (1077-1166), a renowned Sufi saint and scholar from present-day Iraq, founder of the Qadiriyya Sufi order. 2. Abdirahman Nur Sayd (1854-1920), a prominent Somali religious leader and warrior who fought against the colonial powers in the late 19th century. 3. Abdirahman Moallim Abdullahi (1919-1989), a Somali politician and the first President of the Supreme Revolutionary Council of Somalia from 1969 to 1976. 4. Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame (1921-1981), a Somali politician and the second President of Somalia from 1967 to 1969. 5. Abdirahman Aidid (1919-2016), a Somali military officer and the son of Mohamed Siad Barre, the former President of Somalia.
The name Abdirahman continues to be widely used in Somali communities and among Muslims worldwide, reflecting its deep-rooted cultural and religious significance.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Abdirahman over time
The chart below shows babies named Abdirahman registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Abdirahman, the clearest high point is 2006. The latest England and Wales figure is 23 births in 2024, compared with 98 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Abdirahman by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Abdirahman was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #1409 | 98 | 5 |
| 2010s | #702 | 508 | 10 |
| 2000s | #483 | 654 | 10 |
| 1990s | #881 | 81 | 4 |
Geography
Where Abdirahman is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Abdirahman. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Abdirahman ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #638 in 2010.
Across the UK
Abdirahman in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#638 in 2010
1 years of NRS records, 3 total registered
Related
Names similar to Abdirahman
- Alfie 86,546
- Alexander 85,525
- Adam 71,855
- Archie 59,965
- Arthur 43,586
- Aaron 36,366
- Alex 32,729
- Andrew 20,169
- Arlo 19,061
- Aidan 16,776
- Albie 16,017
- Albert 15,809
FAQ
Abdirahman: questions and answers
How popular is the name Abdirahman in the UK right now?
In 2024, Abdirahman was ranked #1199 for boys in England and Wales, with 23 births registered.
When was Abdirahman most popular?
The peak year on record was 2006, with 98 babies registered as Abdirahman in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Abdirahman?
Somali name meaning "servant of the Most Merciful (Allah)".
How many people are called Abdirahman in the UK?
A total of 1,341 babies have been registered as Abdirahman across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 3 more in Scotland.
Where is Abdirahman most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Abdirahman ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #638 in 2010. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.