Fun Facts About the Name Farishta
- 33 babies named Farishta: U.S. records list 33 babies given the name Farishta from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Farishta Mean?
Farishta is a feminine given name used mainly in South Asia and in Persian-speaking regions. Its established meaning is "angel." It comes from Persian fereshte (فرشته), "angel," a word whose older and more literal sense was "messenger."
The Persian word descends from Middle Persian frēstag, "messenger, envoy," which was formed from the verb frēstīdan, "to send." That older sense matched the Greek angelos and the Aramaic malʾăḵā, both of which literally mean "messenger" and were used for heavenly messengers in religious texts. So the literal etymology is "messenger," while the customary meaning carried by the word in Persian, Urdu, and Hindi is "angel."
Farishta Name History & Origins
Farishta reached South Asia through Persian, which served for centuries as a language of administration, literature, and court culture in the region. Persian fereshte was borrowed into Urdu and Hindi as farishta (فرشتہ), where it works both as an ordinary noun meaning "angel" and as a personal name, usually feminine. The standard Persian form of the name is written Fereshteh; South Asian spellings include Farishta, Farishtah, and Ferishta.
In Persian, the term is represented in the Middle Persian period by frēstag; the modern form fereshte developed from it and was used widely for angels in later Persian religious and literary writing. As a name it is found in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, and among Urdu- and Bengali-speaking communities in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. A separate, documented historical bearer of the byname is the Persian-language historian Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah, known as Firishta, who wrote a chronicle of India around the early seventeenth century.
How Popular is the Name Farishta?
Farishta has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2023. Its best rank was #7,765 in 2023.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #12,325 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #7,765 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2022 | #12,668 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #16,330 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Farishta Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are kind, home-loving, hospitable and friendly. Since you take responsibility well, you are a good organizer of social affairs. Compassion for others is an outstanding trait. You are a great lover and a great flirt – an artist, musician, actor, teacher, nurse. Your character can be contradictory. You are practical, yet idealistic and intuitive; capable of selfless devotion to someone you love, yet look to receive payback. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Farishta's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Farishta's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.