girl's name
Safiya
sa-FEE-yah
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 10,270
France
#182
2025 births
Safiya is a girl's name of Arabic origin meaning "pure" or "chosen," and its bearer was a Jewish woman who became a wife of the Prophet. It ranks 182nd in France and 459th in England and Wales.
- Safiya is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2020, when 335 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,871 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1967.
Safiya 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 | 5 |
| 1980s | 40 |
| 1990s | 95 |
| 2000s | 535 |
| 2010s | 2,355 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,805 |
What Safiya means
Safiya means pure, serene or chosen, from the Arabic safa, to be clear. The root covers clarity of water and of character alike, and the chosen sense follows from being selected as the best of something.
Where Safiya comes from
Safiya comes from the Arabic root s-f-w, meaning to be pure or clear, giving safiyya — a pure or chosen one. Its bearer is Safiyya bint Huyayy, a Jewish woman of the Banu Nadir taken captive at Khaybar in 628, freed and married by Muhammad, and counted among the Mothers of the Believers. Her position was contested in her lifetime and the sources record her being taunted for her ancestry, with the Prophet reportedly telling her to answer that her father was Aaron and her uncle Moses. The same root gives Safi, pure, and Mount Safa in Mecca, one of the two hills of the sa'i ritual. Sofia, from the Greek for wisdom, is a completely separate name that the spelling sometimes blurs into.
Safiya in use
Safiya ranks 182nd in France with about 315 births in 2025 and 459th in England and Wales with 88 births, so it has real British standing as well as French. It is rising in our data with a peak in 2020, and our records carry it from 1967. It holds 1,333rd in the United States. Safia, Safiyya and Safiyah are counted separately in every register.
How popular is Safiya?
In 2025, Safiya was given to 315 babies in France, ranking #182 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Safiya 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.
Names that peaked alongside Safiya
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Safiya also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Safiya over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Safiya
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Safiya 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 Safiya
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Safiya — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Safiya
What does the name Safiya mean?
Safiya means "pure" or "chosen," from the Arabic safa, to be clear.
Who was Safiyya bint Huyayy?
A Jewish woman of the Banu Nadir, taken captive at Khaybar in 628, freed and married by Muhammad, and counted among the Mothers of the Believers.
Is Safiya related to Sofia?
No. Sofia is Greek, meaning wisdom, and is a separate name.
How popular is Safiya?
182nd in France and 459th in England and Wales.
Is Safiya a girl's or a boy's name?
Safiya is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
What are the nicknames for Safiya?
Safiya is usually shortened to Safi.
Is Safiya a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Safiya currently ranks #182 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.