UK boy's name
Yahia
A masculine Arabic name meaning "to live" or "lively".
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.
Yahia is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Yahia popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2921, with 7 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2022, with 12 births.
This profile covers 149 England and Wales registrations across 22 recorded years from 1999 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 58% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 154 living people in the UK are called Yahia. 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
- • Yahia ranked #2921 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 7 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2022, when 12 boys were registered as Yahia.
- • Yahia ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #701 in 2019.
- • About 154 living people in the UK are estimated to have Yahia as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#2921
2024
Births in 2024
7
Latest year
Peak year
2022
12 births
Estimated living
154
2026
Meaning
What does Yahia mean?
The name Yahia is derived from the Arabic name Yahya, which is the Arabic form of the Hebrew name Yohanan or John. This name has its origins in ancient Semitic languages and is a variant of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious."
The name Yahya is mentioned in the Quran as the name of John the Baptist, a prophet who was a precursor to Jesus Christ in Christian beliefs. In the Quran, Yahya is described as a righteous prophet who was granted wisdom and knowledge as a child.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Yahya can be found in ancient Arabic manuscripts and historical records from the 7th century AD. During this time, the name gained popularity among Muslims as a name for their sons, inspired by the Quranic references.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Yahia or its variants. One of the most famous was Yahia ibn Adi (893-974 AD), an Arab Christian philosopher and writer who lived in Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate. His works on logic, metaphysics, and theology were influential in the development of Arab and Islamic philosophy.
Another prominent figure was Yahia al-Nawawi (1233-1277 AD), a Sunni Islamic scholar and jurist from Damascus. He is renowned for his influential works on Islamic jurisprudence, particularly his compilation of hadith (prophetic traditions) known as Riyadh al-Salihin.
In the realm of science, Yahia ibn Ismail al-Ma'mun (786-833 AD) was a renowned Arab astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and the study of celestial mechanics.
The name Yahia also graced notable figures in literature, such as Yahia ibn al-Mu'tazz (868-923 AD), an Abbasid prince and renowned poet who was celebrated for his mastery of Arabic poetry and his contributions to the development of literary criticism.
Another historical figure of note was Yahia ibn Yahya al-Laithi (718-803 AD), a prominent Arab grammarian and linguist from Basra, who made significant contributions to the study of Arabic grammar and syntax.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Yahia over time
The chart below shows babies named Yahia registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1999 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 Yahia, the clearest high point is 2022. The latest England and Wales figure is 7 births in 2024, compared with 12 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yahia by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Yahia 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 | #2553 | 41 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2769 | 71 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2710 | 33 | 6 |
| 1990s | #2425 | 4 | 1 |
Geography
Where Yahia is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Yahia. 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.
Yahia ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #701 in 2019.
Across the UK
Yahia in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#701 in 2019
2 years of NRS records, 6 total registered
Related
Names similar to Yahia
- Yusuf 11,801
- Yahya 5,758
- Yunus 2,009
- Yaseen 1,799
- Yasin 1,797
- Yuvraj 1,605
- Yaqub 1,517
- Yousef 1,489
- Yousuf 1,454
- Yasir 1,056
- Yash 876
- Youssef 749
FAQ
Yahia: questions and answers
How popular is the name Yahia in the UK right now?
In 2024, Yahia was ranked #2921 for boys in England and Wales, with 7 births registered.
When was Yahia most popular?
The peak year on record was 2022, with 12 babies registered as Yahia in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Yahia?
A masculine Arabic name meaning "to live" or "lively".
How many people are called Yahia in the UK?
A total of 149 babies have been registered as Yahia across the 22 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 6 more in Scotland.
Where is Yahia most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Yahia ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #701 in 2019. 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.