boys' name ★ peaked 2025

Yahya

Gender Boy Rank 2025 #616 Trend ↑ Rising 79%

From Arabic يَحْيَى (yaḥyā), equivalent to John in the Qur'an.

Rank 2025
#616
among boys · ↑91 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
455
named Yahya · +20% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,754
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
455 babies
All-time total
4,582
#1,892 all-time among boys
First recorded
1972
in Social Security records

Yahya popularity over time

4,582 babies have been named Yahya since 1972, 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
0.080.150.230.318801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – – – – – –
1970s – 18 18 2 – #4,432
1980s – 96 96 10 +433% #3,126
1990s – 181 181 18 +89% #2,862
2000s – 700 700 70 +287% #1,313
2010s 6 1,834 1,840 184 +163% #922
2020s (to 2025) – 1,747 1,747 291 +58% #616

Where Yahya is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 503 0.29 outside top 500
2027 547 0.32 outside top 500
2028 588 0.34 outside top 500
2029 625 0.37 #482
2030 658 0.39 #468

Where Yahya is most popular

Boys named Yahya per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.178 per 1,000. Strongest in Minnesota, Illinois, and New York.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Yahya 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Minnesota 124 1.01 +468%
Illinois 122 0.477 +168%
New York 172 0.397 +123%
Virginia 74 0.390 +119%
Michigan 76 0.371 +109%
Ohio 72 0.272 +53%
New Jersey 52 0.258 +45%
Pennsylvania 52 0.196 +10%
Washington 32 0.196 +10%
Massachusetts 26 0.189 +6%
California 159 0.174 ≈ national
Texas 153 0.174 ≈ national
Maryland 20 0.168 -6%
North Carolina 36 0.141 -21%
Tennessee 24 0.133 -25%
Missouri 18 0.130 -27%
Louisiana 12 0.117 -34%
Florida 55 0.116 -35%
Georgia 29 0.114 -36%
Colorado 12 0.093 -48%
Connecticut 5 0.074 -58%
Oregon 5 0.066 -63%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Yahya

Yahya is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #616 in 2025 with 455 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1972, 4,582 American babies have been named Yahya. Its peak came in 2025, when 455 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Yahya stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Yahya?

The median living Yahya is about 8 years old; half are between 3 and 14. An estimated 4,500 people named Yahya are alive in the United States today.

median 8 020406080100

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

Yahya 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 – – 455 #616
2024 – – 379 #707
2023 – – 265 #881
2022 – – 243 #942
2021 – – 195 #1,087
2020 – – 210 #1,006
2019 – – 226 #952
2018 – – 202 #1,022
2017 – – 230 #922
2016 – – 224 #938
2015 – – 211 #982
2014 – – 167 #1,142
2013 – – 173 #1,083
2012 – – 158 #1,160
2011 6 #16,664 130 #1,317
2010 – – 113 #1,461
2009 – – 133 #1,313
2008 – – 94 #1,654
2007 – – 90 #1,698
2006 – – 80 #1,757
2005 – – 67 #1,921
2004 – – 55 #2,160
2003 – – 47 #2,310
2002 – – 35 #2,751
2001 – – 56 #1,957
2000 – – 43 #2,296
1995 – – 13 #4,788
1990 – – 7 #7,165
1985 – – 11 #4,043
1980 – – 8 #4,930
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Yahya

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

  1. 1 Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Yahya Abdul-Mateen II American actor (born 1986) Contemporary
  2. 2 Yahya Khan Yahya Khan President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971 1914–1980 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Yahya Jammeh Yahya Jammeh President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017 b. 1965 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Yahya Ayyash Yahya Ayyash Palestinian militant and bombmaker (1966–1996) Contemporary
  5. 5 Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din Imam of Yemen (1869–1948) 19th century
  6. 6 Yahya Petra of Kelantan Yahya Petra of Kelantan King of Malaysia from 1975 to 1979 1917–1979 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Yahya Hassan Yahya Hassan Danish poet and writer (1995–2020) Contemporary
  8. 8 Yahya Golmohammadi Yahya Golmohammadi Iranian former footballer and coach (born 1971) Contemporary
  9. 9 Yahya Kemal Beyatlı Yahya Kemal Beyatlı Turkish poet, author, politician and diplomat (1884-1958) 19th century
  10. 10 Yahya of Antioch Melkite Christian physician 980–1066 · Medieval
  11. 11 Yahya Ould Hademine Mauritanian engineer and politician b. 1953 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Yahya?

The median living Yahya is about 8 years old. Half of all living Yahyas are between 3 and 14 years old.

How many people named Yahya are alive today?

An estimated 4,500 people named Yahya are alive in the United States, based on 4,582 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Yahya mean?

From Arabic يَحْيَى (yaḥyā), equivalent to John in the Qur'an.

How popular is the name Yahya in 2025?

Yahya ranked #616 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 455 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Yahya?

4,582 babies have been named Yahya in the United States since 1972, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Yahya most popular?

Yahya peaked in 2025, when 455 newborns received the name.

Is Yahya a boy or girl name?

Yahya is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Yahya rising or falling?

Yahya is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Yahya become more popular?

Yahya is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 658 boys named Yahya in 2030, which would rank around #468. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Yahya?

Well-known people named Yahya include Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (actor), Yahya Khan (politician), Yahya Jammeh (politician).

Names like Yahya

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

Compare Yahya with similar names → More names starting with Y →