Shifa
A feminine Arabic name meaning "healing" or "cure".
Name Census estimates that about 305 living Americans carry the first name Shifa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shifa today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shifa births was 2022 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shifa. 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 Shifa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
305
~ 1 in 1,123,785 Americans
Peak year
2022
23 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,138
Tracked since 1995
Census
Shifa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 513 people with the first name Shifa, which placed it at #20,216 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,216
National first-name rank
People counted
513
513 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
75.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shifa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shifa is Asian/Pacific Islander at 75.6%. The next largest groups are White (15.6%) and Black (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shifa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shifa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander75.6% · 388
- White15.6% · 80
- Black or African American5.1% · 26
- Two or more races2.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 2
Popularity
Shifa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shifa from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 125 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Shifa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shifa 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 Shifa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shifas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shifa
The name Shifa is of Arabic origin, derived from the root word "shifa" meaning "healing" or "cure." It is believed to have originated during the early Islamic era, around the 7th century AD, when Arabic culture and language were spreading across the Middle East and North Africa.
Shifa is a name with strong religious and spiritual connotations in Islamic tradition. In the Quran, the holy book of Islam, the word "shifa" is mentioned several times, referring to the healing power of faith and the guidance provided by the divine revelations. The name Shifa is often associated with the idea of spiritual and physical healing, making it a popular choice among Muslim families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shifa can be found in the writings of renowned Islamic scholars and historians from the 8th and 9th centuries. For example, the famous historian and geographer al-Muqaddasi (945-1000 AD) mentioned a woman named Shifa in his work, "Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim" (The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions).
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shifa, including:
1. Shifa Gardi (1993-2017), a Kurdish journalist and humanitarian worker who was killed while reporting on the battle for Mosul in Iraq.
2. Shifa Alvi (born 1957), a Pakistani politician and member of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
3. Shifa Fathima (born 1992), an Indian actress and model known for her work in Malayalam cinema.
4. Shifa Prabhu (born 1996), an Indian cricketer who has represented India in women's cricket.
5. Shifa Wizarat (born 1981), an Afghan human rights activist and researcher who has worked on issues related to women's rights and gender equality.
These individuals, spanning different eras and fields, have carried the name Shifa and contributed to various aspects of society, including journalism, politics, entertainment, sports, and human rights advocacy.
The name Shifa continues to be popular among Muslim communities around the world, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia, and parts of Africa. Its deep-rooted meaning and cultural significance have made it a cherished choice for parents seeking a name that reflects their religious and cultural values, as well as their hopes for their child's well-being and spiritual growth.
People
Shifa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shifa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shifa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shifa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 305 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shifa 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 1,123,785 US residents.
Is Shifa a common name?
We classify Shifa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 308 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shifa most popular?
The single biggest year for Shifa was 2022, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shifa is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shifa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 513 people with the name Shifa, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,216 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shifa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shifa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shifa leans strongly female. 475 people counted with this name were female (92.8%), compared with 37 male bearers (7.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shifa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shifa is Asian/Pacific Islander at 75.6%. The next largest groups are White (15.6%) and Black (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shifa most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shifa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.6% (388 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Shifa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shifa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shifa 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 Shifa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shifa 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 Shifa 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.
How many people are called Shifa?
You can see how many Americans are named Shifa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.