Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2012

Farah

Meaning joy Gender Girl · 2% boys Rank 2025 #1,350 Trend ↑ Rising 16%

Farah is an Arabic- and Persian-language feminine given name meaning "joy" in the former and "glory" in the latter.

Rank 2025
#1,350
among girls · ↑14 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
164
named Farah · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 9,800
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2012
183 babies
All-time total
6,376
#2,221 all-time among girls
First recorded
1960
in Social Security records

Farah popularity over time

6,376 babies have been named Farah since 1960, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.040.080.110.1518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s 149 – 149 15 – #2,367
1970s 710 – 710 71 +377% #803
1980s 818 12 830 83 +17% #1,351
1990s 863 13 876 88 +6% #1,543
2000s 1,185 41 1,226 123 +40% #1,471
2010s 1,580 32 1,612 161 +31% #1,290
2020s (to 2025) 973 – 973 162 +1% #1,310

Where Farah is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 167 0.10 outside top 500
2027 170 0.11 outside top 500
2028 173 0.11 outside top 500
2029 175 0.11 outside top 500
2030 177 0.11 outside top 500

Where Farah is most popular

Girls named Farah per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.101 per 1,000. Strongest in Michigan, New York, and New Jersey.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Farah born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Michigan 59 0.324 +220%
New York 100 0.253 +150%
New Jersey 31 0.172 +70%
Florida 66 0.154 +53%
Illinois 31 0.135 +34%
California 113 0.134 +33%
Virginia 22 0.129 +28%
Texas 99 0.123 +22%
Pennsylvania 27 0.114 +13%
Maryland 11 0.104 ≈ national
Indiana 10 0.071 -30%
Georgia 12 0.053 -48%
North Carolina 10 0.044 -57%
Arizona 6 0.043 -58%
Massachusetts 5 0.041 -59%
Ohio 7 0.030 -71%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Farah

Farah is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,350 in 2025 with 164 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1960, 6,376 American babies have been named Farah. Its peak came in 2012, when 183 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Farah stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Farah?

The median living Farah is about 20 years old; half are between 9 and 36. An estimated 6,300 people named Farah are alive in the United States today.

median 20 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Farah year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 164 #1,350 – –
2024 167 #1,364 – –
2023 173 #1,310 – –
2022 157 #1,432 – –
2021 159 #1,381 – –
2020 153 #1,426 – –
2019 120 #1,732 – –
2018 177 #1,290 – –
2017 143 #1,536 8 #9,111
2016 157 #1,468 – –
2015 172 #1,374 5 #12,671
2014 152 #1,474 9 #8,355
2013 166 #1,392 – –
2012 178 #1,324 5 #12,863
2011 164 #1,395 – –
2010 151 #1,492 5 #12,878
2009 129 #1,712 6 #11,447
2008 140 #1,622 – –
2007 118 #1,809 8 #9,165
2006 130 #1,632 7 #9,898
2005 111 #1,772 5 #12,000
2004 118 #1,648 5 #11,925
2003 129 #1,513 5 #11,444
2002 130 #1,471 – –
2001 92 #1,892 – –
2000 88 #1,927 5 #10,944
1995 77 #1,844 – –
1990 92 #1,624 – –
1985 77 #1,566 – –
1980 72 #1,615 – –
1975 78 #1,368 – –
1970 21 #3,145 – –
1965 7 #5,455 – –
1960 19 #2,841 – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Farah

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Farah Khan Farah Khan Indian filmmaker and choreographer (born 1965) Contemporary
  2. 2 Farah Pahlavi Farah Pahlavi Queen-Empress of Iran from 1959 to 1979 b. 1938 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Farah Zeynep Abdullah Turkish actress (born 1989) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Farah, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Farah?

The median living Farah is about 20 years old. Half of all living Farahs are between 9 and 36 years old.

How many people named Farah are alive today?

An estimated 6,300 people named Farah are alive in the United States, based on 6,376 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Farah mean?

Farah is an Arabic- and Persian-language feminine given name meaning "joy" in the former and "glory" in the latter.

How popular is the name Farah in 2025?

Farah ranked #1,350 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 164 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Farah?

6,376 babies have been named Farah in the United States since 1960, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Farah most popular?

Farah peaked in 2012, when 183 newborns received the name.

Is Farah a boy or girl name?

Farah is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 98% of babies with the name.

Is the name Farah rising or falling?

Farah has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Farah become more popular?

Farah is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 177 girls named Farah in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Farah?

Well-known people named Farah include Farah Khan (film director), Farah Pahlavi (politician), Farah Zeynep Abdullah (actor).

Names like Farah

Names that sound and feel close to Farah: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Farah with similar names → More names starting with F →