Faya
A feminine Arabic name meaning "refuge" or "shelter".
Name Census estimates that about 97 living Americans carry the first name Faya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Faya today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Faya births was 2023 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Faya. 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 Faya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Faya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
97
~ 1 in 3,533,550 Americans
Peak year
2023
17 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,710
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Faya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Faya from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 66 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Faya 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 Faya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fayas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Faya
The name Faya is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, which is spoken primarily in the Middle East and North Africa. It is derived from the Arabic word "fayya," which means "radiant" or "shining." This suggests that the name was likely given to children in the hope that they would grow up to possess a radiant and bright personality.
In the Islamic tradition, the name Faya is sometimes associated with the concept of divine light or enlightenment. It is thought to have been used as a name for girls in various parts of the Arab world, particularly in regions where Arabic was the predominant language, such as the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Faya can be found in medieval Arabic literature. Faya bint al-Qahtani was a renowned poet who lived in the 7th century CE in the Arabian Peninsula. She was known for her eloquent verses and her contributions to the preservation of Arabic literature and culture.
Another notable figure with the name Faya was Faya al-Ghazali, a 12th-century Muslim scholar and mystic from Persia (modern-day Iran). She was a prominent figure in the field of Sufism and is remembered for her writings on spiritual enlightenment and the pursuit of divine knowledge.
In more recent times, Faya Dayi was a Turkish writer and activist who lived from 1877 to 1950. She was a pioneer in the women's rights movement in Turkey and worked tirelessly to promote education and empowerment for women in her country.
Faya Ouedraogo was a Burkinabé politician and activist who lived from 1957 to 2018. She served as the Minister of Social Action and National Solidarity in Burkina Faso and was a vocal advocate for women's rights and gender equality in West Africa.
Faya Tess was an American singer and songwriter who gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. She was known for her soulful voice and her contributions to the contemporary R&B and neo-soul genres.
While the name Faya is not as common as some other Arabic names, it has maintained a presence throughout history, carried by notable figures from various fields and cultures, reflecting its rich heritage and meaning.
People
Faya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Faya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Faya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Faya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 97 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Faya 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 3,533,550 US residents.
Is Faya a common name?
We classify Faya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 98 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Faya most popular?
The single biggest year for Faya was 2023, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Faya is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Faya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Faya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Faya 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 Faya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Faya 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 Faya 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Faya?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Faya, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.