Hadya
A feminine Arabic name meaning "gift" or "present".
Name Census estimates that about 70 living Americans carry the first name Hadya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hadya today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hadya births was 2018 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hadya. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Hadya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hadya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
70
~ 1 in 4,896,491 Americans
Peak year
2018
11 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,585
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Hadya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hadya from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 33 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
Hadya 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 Hadya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hadya
The name Hadya has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "hady," which means "guidance" or "direction." The name first appeared in the Arabian Peninsula region during the medieval period, around the 7th to 10th centuries.
Hadya is believed to have roots in pre-Islamic Arabian traditions, where names often held significant meanings related to virtues, qualities, or aspirations for the child. The name's connection to "guidance" may have been seen as a positive attribute, symbolizing a desire for the child to be guided on the right path in life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hadya can be found in historical texts from the Abbasid Caliphate, a prominent Islamic empire that ruled from the 8th to 13th centuries. During this time, the name was used among Arab nobility and scholarly circles.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hadya. One such figure was Hadya bint Al-Muqtadir (869-932), a renowned Arab poet and scholar who lived during the Abbasid era. She was known for her contribution to literature and her expertise in various fields, including mathematics and astronomy.
Another prominent figure with the name Hadya was Hadya Al-Andalusia (1160-1240), a Muslim philosopher and scientist from the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal). She made significant contributions to the study of optics and was widely respected for her intellectual pursuits.
In the 13th century, Hadya Al-Qurashi (1210-1285) was a celebrated Islamic scholar and jurist from the Arabian Peninsula. She was known for her extensive knowledge of Islamic law and her influential writings on various legal and religious subjects.
During the Ottoman Empire, Hadya Pasha (1520-1578) was a notable military commander and statesman. She played a crucial role in the expansion of Ottoman territories and was highly regarded for her leadership and strategic abilities.
In more recent times, Hadya Saeed (1930-2018) was a prominent Egyptian actress and singer who gained fame for her performances in various Egyptian films and theatrical productions throughout the 20th century.
These examples illustrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Hadya, which has been carried by influential figures across various fields, from literature and science to religion and politics, over the centuries.
People
Hadya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hadya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hadya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hadya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 70 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hadya 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 4,896,491 US residents.
Is Hadya a common name?
We classify Hadya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 70 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hadya most popular?
The single biggest year for Hadya was 2018, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hadya is about 8 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 Hadya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hadya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hadya 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 Hadya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hadya 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 Hadya 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 common is the name Hadya?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Hadya at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.