UK girl's name
Ajwa
A feminine Arabic name meaning "palm dates from Ajwa Valley".
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.
Ajwa is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Ajwa popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2253, with 12 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2016, with 42 births.
This profile covers 354 England and Wales registrations across 18 recorded years from 2007 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 29% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 355 living people in the UK are called Ajwa. 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
- • Ajwa ranked #2253 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 12 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2016, when 42 girls were registered as Ajwa.
- • Ajwa ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #816 in 2013.
- • About 355 living people in the UK are estimated to have Ajwa as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#2253
2024
Births in 2024
12
Latest year
Peak year
2016
42 births
Estimated living
355
2026
Meaning
What does Ajwa mean?
The name Ajwa is of Arabic origin and can be traced back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "ajwah," which means "dates" or "date palms." The name is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula, where date palm cultivation has been an important part of the culture and economy for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Ajwa can be found in Islamic teachings. According to the hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), Ajwa dates were highly regarded and were believed to have medicinal properties. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said, "Whoever starts the morning by eating seven Ajwa dates, no poison or magic will harm him that day."
In the 9th century CE, Ajwa became a popular name among Arab scholars and poets. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Ajwa bint al-Harith (born around 810 CE), a renowned poet from Medina. Her poetic works were widely celebrated and have been preserved in various anthologies.
During the medieval period, the name Ajwa gained popularity among Muslim rulers and nobility. One notable figure was Ajwa al-Baghdadi (1075–1155), a female scholar from Baghdad who made significant contributions to the fields of Islamic theology and jurisprudence. Her writings on Quranic exegesis and Islamic law were highly influential in her time.
In the 13th century, Ajwa al-Andalusi (1220–1293) was a renowned physician and philosopher from Andalusia (modern-day Spain). She was known for her expertise in medicine and her contributions to the development of Arabic medical literature.
Another prominent figure with the name Ajwa was Ajwa bint Abi Bakr (1605–1678), a Sufi mystic and scholar from the Ottoman Empire. She was highly respected for her spiritual teachings and her writings on Sufism, which had a significant impact on the mystical traditions of the region.
While the name Ajwa has historical roots and significance in the Arab and Islamic world, it has also been used by individuals from various cultural backgrounds over the centuries. However, due to the limited availability of historical records, it is challenging to provide a comprehensive account of all individuals with this name throughout history.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Ajwa over time
The chart below shows babies named Ajwa registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2007 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 Ajwa, the clearest high point is 2016. The latest England and Wales figure is 12 births in 2024, compared with 42 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ajwa by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Ajwa 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 | #1941 | 77 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1382 | 260 | 10 |
| 2000s | #3495 | 17 | 3 |
Geography
Where Ajwa is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Ajwa. 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.
Ajwa ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #816 in 2013.
Across the UK
Ajwa in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#816 in 2013
1 years of NRS records, 3 total registered
Related
Names similar to Ajwa
- Amelia 94,830
- Ava 54,556
- Amy 52,495
- Alice 46,815
- Abigail 45,658
- Amber 31,922
- Anna 27,802
- Alexandra 19,455
- Amelie 18,051
- Abbie 15,971
- Aimee 15,158
- Annabelle 15,120
FAQ
Ajwa: questions and answers
How popular is the name Ajwa in the UK right now?
In 2024, Ajwa was ranked #2253 for girls in England and Wales, with 12 births registered.
When was Ajwa most popular?
The peak year on record was 2016, with 42 babies registered as Ajwa in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Ajwa?
A feminine Arabic name meaning "palm dates from Ajwa Valley".
How many people are called Ajwa in the UK?
A total of 354 babies have been registered as Ajwa across the 18 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 3 more in Scotland.
Where is Ajwa most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Ajwa ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #816 in 2013. 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.