UK girl's name
Asma
An Arabic feminine name meaning "elevated one" or "supreme".
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.
Asma is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Asma popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #666, with 58 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2005, with 64 births.
This profile covers 1,398 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 91% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 1,432 living people in the UK are called Asma. 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
- • Asma ranked #666 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 58 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2005, when 64 girls were registered as Asma.
- • Asma ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #541 in 2024.
- • About 1,432 living people in the UK are estimated to have Asma as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#666
2024
Births in 2024
58
Latest year
Peak year
2005
64 births
Estimated living
1,432
2026
Meaning
What does Asma mean?
The name Asma is of Arabic origin and has its roots in the Semitic languages. It is derived from the Arabic word "asm" which means "protection" or "honor." The name can be traced back to the 7th century CE during the advent of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula.
Asma was the name of one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad. She was known as Asma bint Yazid and was renowned for her courage and devotion to the Islamic faith. Her name is mentioned in several Islamic texts and historical records from the early days of Islam.
In the Quran, the holy book of Islam, the name Asma is mentioned in reference to one of the daughters of Pharaoh during the time of Prophet Moses. The Quranic verse (66:11) speaks of her as an exemplary woman of faith and moral character.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Asma is that of Asma bint Abi Bakr (594-677 CE), the daughter of the first Caliph of Islam, Abu Bakr. She was a prominent figure in early Islamic history and is known for her role in the Battle of the Camel during the Caliphate of Ali.
Another notable historical figure with the name Asma was Asma bint Shihab (680-745 CE), a renowned scholar and poet from the Umayyad period. She was highly respected for her knowledge of Arabic literature and her contributions to the development of Islamic jurisprudence.
In the 12th century, Asma bint Al-Muqaddam (1093-1182 CE) was a prominent female poet and scholar from Andalusia (modern-day Spain). Her works were widely celebrated and she was known for her mastery of Arabic language and literature.
Asma bint Shati' Al-Sulamiyyah (1268-1328 CE) was a renowned Sufi mystic and poet from Yemen. Her poetic works, which explored themes of divine love and spiritual enlightenment, have been preserved and studied by scholars for centuries.
In more recent history, Asma Jahangir (1952-2018) was a renowned Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist. She was a prominent advocate for women's rights and democracy in Pakistan and received numerous international awards for her work, including the UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Asma over time
The chart below shows babies named Asma 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 Asma, the clearest high point is 2005. The latest England and Wales figure is 58 births in 2024, compared with 64 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Asma by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Asma 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 | #874 | 212 | 5 |
| 2010s | #767 | 510 | 10 |
| 2000s | #604 | 526 | 10 |
| 1990s | #656 | 150 | 4 |
Geography
Where Asma is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Asma. 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.
Asma ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #541 in 2024.
Across the UK
Asma in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#541 in 2024
12 years of NRS records, 42 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Asma
-
Asma al-Assad
financial analyst
First Lady of Syrian Arab Republic (2000-2024)
1975-
-
Asma Khan
writer; cookbook writer; restaurateur; jurist; cook
Indian-born British chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author
1969-
Related
Names similar to Asma
- 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
Asma: questions and answers
How popular is the name Asma in the UK right now?
In 2024, Asma was ranked #666 for girls in England and Wales, with 58 births registered.
When was Asma most popular?
The peak year on record was 2005, with 64 babies registered as Asma in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Asma?
An Arabic feminine name meaning "elevated one" or "supreme".
How many people are called Asma in the UK?
A total of 1,398 babies have been registered as Asma across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 42 more in Scotland.
Where is Asma most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Asma ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #541 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.