NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Aisha

A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "life" or "alive".

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.

Aisha is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Aisha popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #109, with 442 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2014, with 711 births.

This profile covers 14,332 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, 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 62% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 14,924 living people in the UK are called Aisha. 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

  • Aisha ranked #109 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 442 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2014, when 711 girls were registered as Aisha.
  • Aisha ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #176 in 2024.
  • About 14,924 living people in the UK are estimated to have Aisha as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#109

2024

Births in 2024

442

Latest year

Peak year

2014

711 births

Estimated living

14,924

2026

Meaning

What does Aisha mean?

The name Aisha has its origins in the Arabic language and is derived from the root word 'aysh', meaning 'life' or 'to live'. It was a popular name given to girls in the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding regions during the 6th and 7th centuries CE.

One of the most notable historical figures to bear the name Aisha was Aisha bint Abi Bakr, the third wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born in 614 CE in Mecca, she was revered for her intelligence, wisdom, and knowledge of Islamic traditions. Her accounts and narrations of the prophet's life and teachings are extensively recorded in the hadith literature.

In ancient Arabic texts and poetry, the name Aisha was often associated with qualities such as beauty, grace, and vitality. It was also used as a symbolic representation of the concept of living a fulfilled and prosperous life.

Throughout history, several notable women have carried the name Aisha. One such figure was Aisha al-Baʿuniyah, a 9th-century Arab mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of algebraic techniques and the study of celestial bodies.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Aisha Kandisha, a legendary figure in Moroccan folklore who was believed to possess supernatural powers and was associated with healing and protection.

In the 12th century, Aisha al-Hurra was a renowned Andalusian leader and diplomat who played a crucial role in the politics and governance of the Marinid Sultanate in present-day Morocco.

During the 19th century, Aisha bint Muhammed bin Abdulrahman Al Sudairi was a prominent Saudi Arabian poet and scholar who was highly respected for her literary works and contributions to preserving traditional Arabic culture.

These examples illustrate the historical significance and cultural resonance of the name Aisha, which has been borne by influential figures across various fields, from religion and academia to literature and politics.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Aisha over time

The chart below shows babies named Aisha 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 Aisha, the clearest high point is 2014. The latest England and Wales figure is 442 births in 2024, compared with 711 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Aisha
0178356533711199620102024

Decades

Aisha by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Aisha 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 #111 2,261 5
2010s #91 6,094 10
2000s #113 4,588 10
1990s #135 1,389 4

Geography

Where Aisha is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Aisha. 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.

Aisha ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #176 in 2024.

Scotland
23
Northern Ireland
4

Across the UK

Aisha in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#176 in 2024

47 years of NRS records, 631 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#333 in 2020

11 years of NISRA records, 41 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Aisha

  • Aisha Kerr

    badminton player

    badminton player

    1989-

  • Aisha Holloway

    nurse administrator; nurse scientist

    Scottish nursing academic and healthcare administrator

Related

Names similar to Aisha

FAQ

Aisha: questions and answers

How popular is the name Aisha in the UK right now?

In 2024, Aisha was ranked #109 for girls in England and Wales, with 442 births registered.

When was Aisha most popular?

The peak year on record was 2014, with 711 babies registered as Aisha in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Aisha?

A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "life" or "alive".

How many people are called Aisha in the UK?

A total of 14,332 babies have been registered as Aisha across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 631 more in Scotland and 41 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Aisha most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Aisha ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #176 in 2024. 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.