Fun Facts About the Name Medina
- More than 1 thousand babies named Medina: U.S. records list 1,987 babies given the name Medina from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Medina Mean?
Medina comes from the Arabic word madīna (مدينة), which means "city" or "town." The word belongs to the Arabic root m-d-n, the same root behind the verb madana, "to build" or "to settle." Its most familiar use is as the Arabic name of the Arabian city al-Madīna, literally "the City."
In Spanish and Portuguese, Medina works mainly as a surname and as an element in place names such as Medina del Campo, Medina Sidonia, and Medina de Rioseco in Spain. The Spanish word was borrowed from Arabic during the centuries of Muslim rule in Iberia, so it carries the same basic sense of "city." A person surnamed Medina was originally identified with one of these towns, rather than with a separate meaning.
Medina Name History & Origins
The Arabic word madīna was applied to the city in western Arabia that had earlier been called Yathrib. After Muhammad's migration there in 622, it was known as Madīnat al-Nabī ("the city of the Prophet") and more simply as al-Madīna, "the City." Because of the city's central place in Islamic history, the word and the name spread widely through the Arabic-speaking and Muslim world.
In al-Andalus, Muslim rulers used madīna for towns and fortified settlements, and this naming element survived in Spanish place names after the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. From those towns the surname Medina developed, becoming common across Spain and Portugal and later in Latin America through Spanish and Portuguese settlement.
As a given name, Medina is used chiefly in Spanish-speaking regions, generally for girls, and it also appears among English speakers. Its use as a personal name grows out of the same word and the place names and surnames built from it, rather than from a separate root.
How Popular is the Name Medina?
Medina 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 2024. Its best rank was #2,526 in 1963.
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 | #4,138 | 35 | 0.0022% |
| 2024 | #2,806 | 60 | 0.0037% |
| 2023 | #3,037 | 55 | 0.0034% |
| 2022 | #3,061 | 54 | 0.0033% |
| 2021 | #3,916 | 38 | 0.0023% |
| 2020 | #4,135 | 34 | 0.0021% |
| 2019 | #3,647 | 42 | 0.0025% |
| 2018 | #3,824 | 39 | 0.0023% |
| 2017 | #3,967 | 38 | 0.0022% |
| 2016 | #5,231 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2015 | #5,244 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2014 | #3,696 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 2013 | #4,307 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 2012 | #4,568 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2011 | #4,326 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 2010 | #3,934 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2009 | #3,845 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 2008 | #4,059 | 39 | 0.0021% |
| 2007 | #4,532 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2006 | #4,429 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2005 | #3,043 | 53 | 0.0029% |
| 2004 | #4,353 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2003 | #3,707 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 2002 | #3,637 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 2001 | #3,181 | 44 | 0.0024% |
| 2000 | #3,318 | 41 | 0.0023% |
| 1999 | #3,692 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 1998 | #2,994 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 1997 | #3,972 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1996 | #4,407 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 1995 | #3,742 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1994 | #3,201 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 1993 | #3,264 | 35 | 0.0019% |
| 1992 | #3,746 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1991 | #3,689 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 1990 | #4,624 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1989 | #3,636 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1988 | #4,593 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1987 | #4,801 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1986 | #5,362 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1985 | #3,689 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1984 | #3,938 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1983 | #5,048 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1982 | #5,101 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1981 | #4,108 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1980 | #3,466 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 1979 | #3,738 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 1978 | #3,715 | 20 | 0.0013% |
| 1977 | #3,707 | 20 | 0.0013% |
| 1976 | #3,060 | 24 | 0.0016% |
| 1975 | #2,783 | 27 | 0.0019% |
| 1974 | #3,388 | 20 | 0.0014% |
| 1973 | #2,884 | 24 | 0.0016% |
| 1972 | #3,242 | 20 | 0.0013% |
| 1971 | #3,228 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 1970 | #3,814 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1969 | #3,559 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1968 | #4,392 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1967 | #3,032 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1966 | #3,115 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1965 | #3,008 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1964 | #3,197 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1963 | #2,526 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1962 | #3,250 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1961 | #3,420 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1960 | #3,623 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1959 | #4,212 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1958 | #3,331 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1957 | #2,893 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1956 | #4,360 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1955 | #3,183 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1954 | #4,995 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1953 | #4,133 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1952 | #5,332 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #5,755 | 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 Medina Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
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.
✦ Medina's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Medina's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.