UK girl's name
Hawa
A feminine given name of Arabic origin meaning "life" or "Eve".
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.
Hawa is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Hawa popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #328, with 131 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2020, with 142 births.
This profile covers 1,534 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 92% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 1,530 living people in the UK are called Hawa. 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
- • Hawa ranked #328 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 131 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2020, when 142 girls were registered as Hawa.
- • Hawa ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #809 in 2018.
- • About 1,530 living people in the UK are estimated to have Hawa as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#328
2024
Births in 2024
131
Latest year
Peak year
2020
142 births
Estimated living
1,530
2026
Meaning
What does Hawa mean?
The name Hawa is of Arabic origin and is a variant of the name Hawwa, which means "life-giver" or "source of life." It is the Arabic form of the name Eve, the first woman mentioned in the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The name Hawa is derived from the Arabic root word "hayy," meaning "alive" or "living." In the Islamic tradition, Hawa (Eve) was the first woman created by God and was the companion of Adam, the first man. The story of their creation and expulsion from the Garden of Eden is narrated in the Quran and plays a significant role in Islamic theology.
The name Hawa is mentioned several times in the Quran, where it is used to refer to Eve, the wife of Adam. For example, in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 35, it states: "And We said: O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Garden, and eat you two freely thereof where you will, but do not approach this tree, or you will become of the unjust."
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Hawa is found in the writings of the 9th-century Islamic scholar Al-Tabari, who documented the Islamic tradition of the creation of Adam and Hawa (Eve).
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hawa. One such individual was Hawa bint Yazid, a 7th-century Arab poet and woman of letters, renowned for her eloquence and literary talent.
Another notable figure was Hawa Bashir, a 19th-century Egyptian feminist and educator, who played a significant role in advocating for women's rights and education in Egypt.
In the 20th century, Hawa Idris Bint Al-Sharif was a Sudanese writer and activist who campaigned for women's rights and social reform in Sudan.
Hawa Abdi was a Somali human rights activist and founder of the Hawa Abdi Village, a pioneering humanitarian organization that provided shelter and medical care to thousands of internally displaced people during the Somali Civil War (born in 1947).
Hawa Al-Samrai was an Iraqi artist and sculptor, known for her distinctive style and contributions to modern Iraqi art (born in 1938, died in 2021).
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Hawa throughout history, highlighting its rich cultural and historical significance.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Hawa over time
The chart below shows babies named Hawa 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 Hawa, the clearest high point is 2020. The latest England and Wales figure is 131 births in 2024, compared with 142 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hawa by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Hawa 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 | #335 | 660 | 5 |
| 2010s | #712 | 645 | 10 |
| 2000s | #1389 | 192 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1868 | 37 | 4 |
Geography
Where Hawa is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Hawa. 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.
Hawa ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #809 in 2018.
Across the UK
Hawa in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#809 in 2018
1 years of NRS records, 3 total registered
Related
Names similar to Hawa
- Hannah 67,635
- Holly 52,307
- Harriet 24,781
- Hollie 17,902
- Harper 15,784
- Heidi 12,675
- Hallie 9,873
- Hope 9,414
- Hayley 5,968
- Hazel 5,954
- Hanna 5,735
- Heather 5,497
FAQ
Hawa: questions and answers
How popular is the name Hawa in the UK right now?
In 2024, Hawa was ranked #328 for girls in England and Wales, with 131 births registered.
When was Hawa most popular?
The peak year on record was 2020, with 142 babies registered as Hawa in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Hawa?
A feminine given name of Arabic origin meaning "life" or "Eve".
How many people are called Hawa in the UK?
A total of 1,534 babies have been registered as Hawa across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 3 more in Scotland.
Where is Hawa most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Hawa ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #809 in 2018. 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.