NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Aysha

An Arabic feminine given name meaning "life" or "living".

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.

Aysha is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Aysha popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #776, with 48 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1998, with 114 births.

This profile covers 2,483 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 42% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 2,557 living people in the UK are called Aysha. 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

  • Aysha ranked #776 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 48 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 1998, when 114 girls were registered as Aysha.
  • Aysha ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #638 in 2024.
  • About 2,557 living people in the UK are estimated to have Aysha as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#776

2024

Births in 2024

48

Latest year

Peak year

1998

114 births

Estimated living

2,557

2026

Meaning

What does Aysha mean?

The name Aysha originates from the Arabic language and culture. It is a variation of the name Aisha, which means "alive" or "living." The name has its roots in the Arabic word "hayah," meaning life.

The name Aysha has been in use for centuries, with its earliest known reference found in Islamic literature and historical records. One of the most famous bearers of this name was Aisha, the third wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. She was born in 614 CE and was revered for her knowledge and wisdom.

Throughout history, the name Aysha has been borne by several notable individuals. One such person was Aysha al-Bauniyyah, a 12th-century Sufi mystic and scholar from Syria. Another notable bearer of the name was Aysha bint Talha, a 7th-century Muslim woman who fought alongside her father in the Battle of the Camel during the early Islamic civil wars.

In the 9th century, Aysha bint Muhammad al-Qurashiya was a renowned poet and scholar from Baghdad. She was known for her contributions to Arabic literature and her expertise in various fields, including Islamic jurisprudence and hadith studies.

In more recent times, Aysha Taryam was a prominent Emirati businesswoman and philanthropist who lived from 1938 to 2018. She was the founder of the Taryam Group, a successful business conglomerate, and was widely respected for her charitable work and support of education initiatives in the United Arab Emirates.

Another notable bearer of the name was Aysha Yahya al-Musa, a Kuwaiti writer and literary critic who was born in 1924. She played a significant role in promoting Arabic literature and culture, and her works explored themes of women's empowerment and social issues.

While these are just a few examples, the name Aysha has been borne by many influential and accomplished individuals throughout history, reflecting its deep roots and cultural significance within the Arabic-speaking world.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Aysha over time

The chart below shows babies named Aysha 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 Aysha, the clearest high point is 1998. The latest England and Wales figure is 48 births in 2024, compared with 114 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Aysha
0295786114199620102024

Decades

Aysha by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Aysha 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 #664 287 5
2010s #554 777 10
2000s #384 997 10
1990s #329 422 4

Geography

Where Aysha is most common

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

Aysha ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #638 in 2024.

Scotland
4

Across the UK

Aysha in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#638 in 2024

23 years of NRS records, 89 total registered

Related

Names similar to Aysha

FAQ

Aysha: questions and answers

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

In 2024, Aysha was ranked #776 for girls in England and Wales, with 48 births registered.

When was Aysha most popular?

The peak year on record was 1998, with 114 babies registered as Aysha in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Aysha?

An Arabic feminine given name meaning "life" or "living".

How many people are called Aysha in the UK?

A total of 2,483 babies have been registered as Aysha across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 89 more in Scotland.

Where is Aysha most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Aysha ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #638 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.