Yahya

Meaning: God is gracious
Origin: Arabic — Doublet of John, via Hebrew

Boy's name · #616 in the US (2025) · Trending

Popularity over time

Yahya is climbing: on the charts since 1972, it reached #616 in 2025 — its strongest showing yet, with about 460 boys given the name last year. Roughly 4,600 have carried it all-time.

Across the states

See where Yahya is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 20 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Yahya ranks in other countries and regions.

#81 in England & Wales (2025) · #111 in Belgium (2025) · #165 in Scotland (2025) · #183 in Netherlands (2025) · #200 in Austria (2025) · #209 in Sweden (2025) · #220 in Norway (2025) · #232 in France (2025) · #485 in Poland (2025) · #508 in Ireland (2025) · #513 in Switzerland (2025) · #274 in Canada (2024).

Famous Yahyas

Yahya Jammeh — 2nd President of the Gambia
Yahya Khan — Former Pakistani president (1917–1980)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II — American actor
Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din — Imam (1869–1948)
Yahya Golmohammadi — Iranian association football player and manager

What Yahyas become

Among 333 notable people named Yahya:

Political leaders appear 2.45× more often than among typical names — e.g. Yahya Jammeh, Gambian politician (born 1965).

Similar names: Zayd · Eyad · Shia · Sylas · Taha · Yaseen

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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