Hawa

Did you know?

A few things about Hawa you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Hawa

Hawa Abdi

Somalian physician, activist (1947-2020)

Choose Hawa and your child shares a first name with Hawa Abdi, a Somalian physician, activist. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Hawa, like who?” Hawa Abdi's Wikipedia article is available in 35 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Hawa Abdi on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Eunice Lau, CC BY 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 14,472 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Hawa, 111 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Hawa would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryHawa first shows up in US birth records in 1978, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 47 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2024, when it reached #1,648.
• 📈Then vs nowHawa is 3.3× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 47,847 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 14,472.
• 📍Where it's lovedHawa is most popular in Minnesota, where it ranks #835, followed by Maryland (#840) and Ohio (#878). It's in the top 1,000 in 5 states.
• 💬MeaningHawa is an Arabic form of Eve, which means “life”. Our records link it to African, Arabic and Swahili roots.

About the name Hawa

Hawa is a girl name of African, Arabic and Swahili origin meaning “life”. It has 4 letters and 2 syllables, starting with H and ending in “-awa”. US birth records list Hawa for girls from 1978 to 2025, in 43 of those 48 years. Its best year was 2024, when it ranked #1,648 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #1,808, with 111 babies.

Origin:African namesArabic namesSwahili names