NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Ayisha

A feminine Arabic name meaning "alive" or "prosperous.".

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.

Ayisha is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Ayisha popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3695, with 6 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2000, with 30 births.

This profile covers 405 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 20% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 413 living people in the UK are called Ayisha. 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

  • Ayisha ranked #3695 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 6 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2000, when 30 girls were registered as Ayisha.
  • Ayisha ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #553 in 2003.
  • About 413 living people in the UK are estimated to have Ayisha as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#3695

2024

Births in 2024

6

Latest year

Peak year

2000

30 births

Estimated living

413

2026

Meaning

What does Ayisha mean?

The name Ayisha is of Arabic origin, derived from the root word "Aysh" which means "life" or "to live." It is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula during the early days of Islam, around the 7th century AD.

The name Ayisha gained particular significance in Islamic history as it was the name of one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad. Ayisha bint Abi Bakr, born around 614 CE in Mecca, was married to Muhammad at a young age and is revered as one of the most prominent and influential female figures in early Islamic history. She is known for her extensive knowledge of the teachings of Islam and her role in transmitting numerous hadith (sayings of the Prophet).

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ayisha can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, where it is mentioned in reference to the wife of the Prophet Muhammad. This association with a significant figure in Islamic tradition contributed to the widespread use and popularity of the name among Muslims throughout the centuries.

In addition to its religious significance, the name Ayisha has been borne by several notable historical figures. One such figure is Ayisha al-Taimuriya, a 10th-century Arab mathematician and astronomer from Damascus, who made significant contributions to the field of mathematics and was renowned for her expertise in solving complex equations.

Another prominent bearer of the name is Ayisha al-Idrissi, a 16th-century Moroccan scholar and author, who wrote extensively on various subjects, including history, geography, and Islamic jurisprudence. Her work, "Al-Nuzha al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq" (The Diversion for the Desiring in the Penetration of the Horizons), is considered a seminal work in the field of geography and travel literature.

In more recent times, Ayisha Gaddafi, the daughter of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, born in 1976, gained international attention for her involvement in Libyan politics and her role in advocating for women's rights and social welfare programs in Libya.

Ayisha Mustafa, born in 1923 in Egypt, was a renowned Egyptian feminist, writer, and activist who played a pivotal role in advocating for women's rights and gender equality in the Arab world.

Ayisha Siddiqa, born in 1968 in Pakistan, is a prominent Pakistani political scientist and author, known for her work on civil-military relations and her critical analysis of the role of the military in Pakistani politics.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Ayisha over time

The chart below shows babies named Ayisha 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 Ayisha, the clearest high point is 2000. The latest England and Wales figure is 6 births in 2024, compared with 30 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Ayisha
08152330199620102024

Decades

Ayisha by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Ayisha 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 #3050 39 5
2010s #2461 111 10
2000s #1415 181 10
1990s #1096 74 4

Geography

Where Ayisha is most common

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

Ayisha ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #553 in 2003.

Scotland
4

Across the UK

Ayisha in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#553 in 2003

3 years of NRS records, 10 total registered

Related

Names similar to Ayisha

FAQ

Ayisha: questions and answers

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

In 2024, Ayisha was ranked #3695 for girls in England and Wales, with 6 births registered.

When was Ayisha most popular?

The peak year on record was 2000, with 30 babies registered as Ayisha in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Ayisha?

A feminine Arabic name meaning "alive" or "prosperous.".

How many people are called Ayisha in the UK?

A total of 405 babies have been registered as Ayisha across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 10 more in Scotland.

Where is Ayisha most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Ayisha ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #553 in 2003. 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.