girl's name
Asma
AS-mah
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Girl
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 15,485
France
#170
2025 births
Asma is a girl's name of Arabic origin meaning "loftier" or "more eminent," borne by the woman who carried food to Muhammad in hiding. It ranks 170th in France and is stable in our data.
- Asma is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2017, when 415 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,814 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1967.
Asma over time
Births per decade in France, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 5 |
| 1970s | 215 |
| 1980s | 880 |
| 1990s | 1,315 |
| 2000s | 2,265 |
| 2010s | 3,715 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,935 |
What Asma means
Asma means loftier, higher or more eminent, from the Arabic root sama, to be high. It is a comparative rather than an absolute — higher than others — which is a common shape for Arabic names and is usually flattened in translation.
Where Asma comes from
Asma comes from the Arabic root s-m-w, to be high or lofty, giving the comparative asma. The same root gives sama, the sky, and ism, a name. Its bearer is Asma bint Abi Bakr, daughter of the first caliph and half-sister of Aisha, who carried food to Muhammad and her father while they hid in the cave of Thawr during the flight to Medina; she tore her waistband in two to tie the provisions, which earned her the epithet Dhat an-Nitaqayn, she of the two belts. She lived to about a hundred and died shortly after her son Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr was killed and crucified in Mecca in 692. The name is common across the Arab world and in South Asia and Turkey as Esma.
Asma in use
Asma ranks 170th in France with about 330 births in 2025 and is stable in our data with a peak in 2017. Our records carry it from 1967. It holds 656th in England and Wales and 1,618th in the United States, so it has genuine reach beyond France — more than most Arabic names in this range, which tend to be French-only.
How popular is Asma?
In 2025, Asma was given to 325 babies in France, ranking #170 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Asma is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Asma is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Asmâ | Asmâ is a rare spelling of Asma, written with a circumflex and recorded about 40 times, mostly in France. | 40 |
Names that peaked alongside Asma
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Asma also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Asma over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Asma in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Asma
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Asma — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Asma
What does the name Asma mean?
Asma means "loftier" or "more eminent," from the Arabic root sama, to be high.
Who was Asma bint Abi Bakr?
The daughter of the first caliph, who carried provisions to Muhammad in hiding and tore her belt in two to do it.
Is Asma related to the Arabic for sky?
Yes — sama, the sky, and ism, a name, come from the same root.
How popular is Asma?
170th in France and 656th in England and Wales.
Is Asma a girl's or a boy's name?
Asma is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
Is Asma a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Asma currently ranks #170 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.