Fotima
An Arabic name possibly meaning "weaner" or "abstinent".
Name Census estimates that about 89 living Americans carry the first name Fotima. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fotima today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fotima births was 2024 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fotima. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Fotima. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
89
~ 1 in 3,851,172 Americans
Peak year
2024
16 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,007
Tracked since 2012
Popularity
Fotima: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fotima from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 67 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fotima by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Fotima during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fotimas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Fotima
The name Fotima is derived from the Arabic name Fatima, which has its origins in the Semitic root "f-t-m" meaning "to wean" or "to be weaned." It is believed to have been first used as a name in the 7th century CE during the early days of Islam.
Fatima was the name of one of the daughters of the Prophet Muhammad, who lived from 605 to 632 CE. She was highly revered by Muslims, and her name gained popularity among the faithful as a result. The name is mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, which further contributed to its widespread use.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fatima can be found in the historical accounts of the life of the Prophet Muhammad and his family. The name Fatima al-Zahra, referring to the Prophet's daughter, appears extensively in Islamic literature and hadiths (sayings attributed to the Prophet).
Throughout history, there have been several notable women named Fatima or variations of the name. These include Fatima al-Fihri (born in 800 CE), who founded the University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco, which is considered one of the oldest continuously operating universities in the world. Another prominent figure was Fatima Bint al-Walid (died in 1005 CE), a renowned jurist and scholar in Islamic jurisprudence.
In the 12th century, Fatima bint al-Hasan al-Hilli (1173-1232 CE) was a prominent Shia scholar and poet from Iraq. During the Ottoman Empire, Fatima Sultan (1590-1670 CE) was a powerful figure and the wife of Sultan Ahmed I. More recently, Fatima Jinnah (1893-1967 CE) was a prominent Pakistani political figure and the sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
While the spelling "Fotima" is less common, it is likely a variation that emerged due to transliteration from different languages or regional pronunciations. The name has been popular across various cultures influenced by Islam, including Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and South Asian regions, among others.
People
Fotima + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fotima as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fotima: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fotima?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 89 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fotima going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,851,172 US residents.
Is Fotima a common name?
We classify Fotima as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 90 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fotima most popular?
The single biggest year for Fotima was 2024, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fotima is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Fotima in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fotima a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fotima in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Fotima still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fotima in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Fotima can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Fotima?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.