UK girl's name
Safiyyah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "pure, pious" or "serene".
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.
Safiyyah is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Safiyyah popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #463, with 89 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2017, with 93 births.
This profile covers 1,666 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 96% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 1,668 living people in the UK are called Safiyyah. 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
- • Safiyyah ranked #463 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 89 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2017, when 93 girls were registered as Safiyyah.
- • Safiyyah ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.
- • About 1,668 living people in the UK are estimated to have Safiyyah as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#463
2024
Births in 2024
89
Latest year
Peak year
2017
93 births
Estimated living
1,668
2026
Meaning
What does Safiyyah mean?
The name Safiyyah has its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture. It is derived from the Arabic root word "safa," which means "purity" or "clarity." The name carries a connotation of being pure, virtuous, and unblemished.
Safiyyah is a name with strong historical and religious significance in Islam. It is mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, and is associated with one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad, Safiyyah bint Huyayy. She was a Jewish woman from the tribe of Banu Nadir who converted to Islam and married the Prophet in the 7th century CE.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Safiyyah can be found in the historical accounts of the life of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Safiyyah bint Huyayy is remembered as a pious and influential figure in early Islamic history.
Throughout the centuries, several notable women have borne the name Safiyyah. One of the most famous was Safiyyah al-Zahra (born around 1188 CE), a renowned female scholar and poet from Baghdad, Iraq. She was highly respected for her knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and literature.
Another prominent figure was Safiyyah Shihab al-Din (1176-1261 CE), a Sufi mystic and writer from Damascus, Syria. She was known for her spiritual teachings and her work on interpreting mystical poetry.
In the modern era, Safiyyah Sultan (1915-1997) was an influential Egyptian writer and feminist activist. She was a pioneer in advocating for women's rights and education in the Arab world.
Safiyyah al-Bahlani (1908-1996) was a renowned Yemeni poet and educator. Her poetry focused on themes of love, nationalism, and social issues, and she played a significant role in promoting women's education in Yemen.
The name Safiyyah continues to be popular among Muslim communities around the world, carrying with it a rich legacy of purity, virtue, and historical significance within the Islamic tradition.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Safiyyah over time
The chart below shows babies named Safiyyah 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 Safiyyah, the clearest high point is 2017. The latest England and Wales figure is 89 births in 2024, compared with 93 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Safiyyah by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Safiyyah 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 | #517 | 390 | 5 |
| 2010s | #552 | 762 | 10 |
| 2000s | #745 | 410 | 10 |
| 1990s | #853 | 104 | 4 |
Geography
Where Safiyyah is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Safiyyah. 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.
Safiyyah ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.
Across the UK
Safiyyah in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#790 in 2024
3 years of NRS records, 10 total registered
Related
Names similar to Safiyyah
- Sophie 103,803
- Sophia 46,936
- Scarlett 34,261
- Sienna 32,418
- Sofia 29,136
- Sarah 27,961
- Shannon 25,510
- Summer 24,167
- Sara 14,205
- Skye 13,654
- Samantha 12,697
- Stephanie 9,309
FAQ
Safiyyah: questions and answers
How popular is the name Safiyyah in the UK right now?
In 2024, Safiyyah was ranked #463 for girls in England and Wales, with 89 births registered.
When was Safiyyah most popular?
The peak year on record was 2017, with 93 babies registered as Safiyyah in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Safiyyah?
A feminine Arabic name meaning "pure, pious" or "serene".
How many people are called Safiyyah in the UK?
A total of 1,666 babies have been registered as Safiyyah across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 10 more in Scotland.
Where is Safiyyah most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Safiyyah ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #790 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.