Rashada
A feminine Arabic name meaning "rightly guided" or "righteous path".
Name Census estimates that about 161 living Americans carry the first name Rashada. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rashada today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rashada births was 1975 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rashada. 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.
People living today
161
~ 1 in 2,128,909 Americans
Peak year
1975
16 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1993 SSA rank
#11,472
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Rashada: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rashada from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 82 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Rashada remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rashada 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 Rashada during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rashadas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Rashada
The name Rashada is of Arabic origin, with its roots dating back to the 7th century AD during the rise of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula. The name is derived from the Arabic word "rashid," which means "rightly guided" or "following the right path." This name is often associated with guidance, wisdom, and righteous living.
One of the earliest known references to the name Rashada can be found in the Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam. In the Qur'an, the term "rashid" is used to describe those who are rightly guided and follow the straight path. This association with guidance and righteousness likely contributed to the name's popularity among Muslim communities.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Rashada date back to the 8th century AD, during the Abbasid Caliphate. During this period, the name was borne by several notable figures, including Rashada bint Abi'l-Jaysh, a renowned poetess and scholar who lived in the 8th century.
Throughout history, the name Rashada has been carried by various influential individuals. One notable example is Rashada al-Baghdadi, a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist who lived in the 12th century and contributed significantly to the development of Islamic jurisprudence.
Another famous bearer of the name was Rashada al-Malikiyya, a 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet from Egypt. Her poetic works were widely celebrated and continue to be studied and appreciated by scholars to this day.
In the 15th century, Rashada al-Andalusi was a renowned mathematician and astronomer from the Iberian Peninsula. Her contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy were instrumental in advancing scientific knowledge during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization.
Fast-forwarding to the 20th century, Rashada Muhammad Ali was a prominent Egyptian writer and feminist activist who fought for women's rights and gender equality. She played a crucial role in the feminist movement in Egypt and the broader Middle East region.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have borne the name Rashada throughout history. The name's association with guidance, wisdom, and righteousness has likely contributed to its enduring popularity across various cultures and regions influenced by the Arabic language and Islamic traditions.
People
Rashada + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rashada as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rashada: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rashada?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 161 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rashada 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 2,128,909 US residents.
Is Rashada a common name?
We classify Rashada as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 172 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rashada most popular?
The single biggest year for Rashada was 1975, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rashada is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rashada a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rashada 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.
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.