Fun Facts About the Name Wafa
- 481 babies named Wafa: U.S. records list 481 babies given the name Wafa from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Wafa Mean?
Wafa is an Arabic name meaning "loyalty" or "faithfulness." It comes from the Arabic noun wafāʾ (وفاء), built on the root w-f-y, whose basic sense is to fulfill, complete, or keep faith - above all, keeping a promise or staying true to a trust. The word describes someone who honors a pledge and does not betray it; its usual opposite in Arabic is ghadr, meaning treachery or faithlessness.
Because the literal idea is "fulfillment, keeping faith," the name is commonly rendered into English simply as "loyalty." Other names from the same root include the masculine Wafi ("faithful," "complete") and Awfa, and the feminine Wafiyya. Names that resemble Wafa only in Latin letters - for example, names beginning with Waf- or ending in -fa from other languages - do not necessarily share this origin.
Wafa Name History & Origins
Wafa belongs to the large group of Arabic personal names taken from abstract nouns and moral qualities rather than from animals, places, or descriptive nicknames. The concept behind it, honoring covenants and remaining loyal to one's obligations, was a central value in Arabic tribal society, and the same root appears in the Quran in commands to fulfill pledges and covenants, which strengthened the word's standing in Muslim cultures and helped it endure as a name.
In Arabic-speaking countries - Egypt, the Levant, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula, among others - the name is normally feminine, and it is often written in English as Wafaa or Wafa, reflecting the long vowel of the Arabic wafāʾ. As Arabic spread with Islam, the name and the word behind it passed into Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and other Muslim communities in Africa and Southeast Asia, where it is usually understood in the same sense of faithfulness. In Persian the word is pronounced vafā, and Vafa is used as a name in Iran.
The word also became a fixed theme in Persian and Urdu poetry, where wafa (faithfulness) is set against jafa (cruelty, the beloved's coldness), a pairing that runs through ghazal verse for centuries. That literary tradition kept the word familiar to audiences well beyond Arabic speakers, but it is a later poetic use of an existing Arabic noun, not the source of the name. The related honorific Abu al-Wafa ("father of faithfulness") was used as a kunya by historical figures, such as the 10th-century mathematician Abu al-Wafa al-Buzjani, rather than as a given name.
How Popular is the Name Wafa?
Wafa 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 1999. Its best rank was #5,815 in 1983.
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 | #8,826 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2024 | #7,903 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #10,253 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #8,495 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2021 | #9,510 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2018 | #9,772 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #7,817 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2015 | #11,788 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #8,038 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2013 | #10,959 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2012 | #12,156 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #12,101 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #16,882 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #11,410 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2008 | #11,560 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #9,516 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2006 | #8,696 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2005 | #10,100 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2004 | #7,378 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2003 | #8,478 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2002 | #9,448 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #7,308 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2000 | #17,538 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #6,472 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1998 | #12,387 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1997 | #9,001 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1996 | #7,564 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1995 | #10,485 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1994 | #6,657 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1993 | #8,709 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #13,285 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #11,480 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #6,857 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1989 | #6,947 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1988 | #5,890 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1987 | #11,279 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #6,146 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1985 | #6,948 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #9,127 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #5,815 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1982 | #6,876 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #10,388 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1980 | #8,154 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1979 | #8,042 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #11,427 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1974 | #8,742 | 6 | 0.0004% |
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 Wafa Shapes Your Personality and Life?
To express itself, you must follow the divine law of love. You have great persistence and hate to give up. You are a good mixer, charming, magnetic and intuitive. The spirituality is the key to success. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Wafa's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Wafa's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.