Yahia
A masculine Arabic name meaning "to live" or "lively".
Name Census estimates that about 507 living Americans carry the first name Yahia. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yahia today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yahia births was 2016 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yahia. 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
507
~ 1 in 676,044 Americans
Peak year
2016
42 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,145
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Yahia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yahia 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 268 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Yahia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yahia 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 Yahia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yahias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Yahia, while New Jersey, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Yahia
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.
People
Yahia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yahia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yahia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yahia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 507 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yahia 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 676,044 US residents.
Is Yahia a common name?
We classify Yahia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 511 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yahia most popular?
The single biggest year for Yahia was 2016, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yahia is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yahia a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yahia in the SSA data are male. 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.