Fun Facts About the Name Yaffa
- 463 babies named Yaffa: U.S. records list 463 babies given the name Yaffa from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yaffa Mean?
Yaffa is a feminine Hebrew name meaning "beautiful" or "fair." It comes from the Hebrew adjective yafah (יָפָה), the feminine form of yafeh (יָפֶה), meaning "beautiful" or "handsome." The root y-p-h carries the sense of beauty, and in Hebrew the word is used literally for people, objects, and scenes. As a name, Yaffa is a direct use of that adjective rather than a shortened or altered form of another name.
The spelling Yaffa is one common English transliteration of the Hebrew; Yafa is another. The doubled f in Yaffa is an English spelling convention and does not indicate a doubled consonant in Hebrew. The name is distinct from the place-name Jaffa (Hebrew Yafo), although both are sometimes linked to the same Hebrew root for beauty in popular explanation.
Yaffa Name History & Origins
The Hebrew adjective yafah is ancient and appears in biblical texts. In Genesis 12:11, Sarai is called yefat-mareh, "beautiful of appearance," and in Genesis 12:14 she is described as yafah. Those passages use the adjective, not a personal name. The given name Yaffa developed from this vocabulary word, following a Hebrew naming pattern in which ordinary words for qualities, natural features, and abstract nouns become personal names. It is used as a feminine name in modern Hebrew and in Jewish communities outside Israel.
Yaffa is sometimes spelled Yafa. It should not be confused with the ancient port city of Jaffa, called Yafo in Hebrew and Yafa in Arabic. The city's name is sometimes explained as coming from the same Hebrew word for beauty, but that derivation is traditional and not certain, and the personal name and the place-name are separate in usage.
How Popular is the Name Yaffa?
Yaffa 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 2025. Its best rank was #5,548 in 2025.
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 | #5,548 | 23 | 0.0014% |
| 2024 | #10,202 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #12,127 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #9,638 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #8,006 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2020 | #8,923 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2019 | #6,406 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2018 | #8,586 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #8,753 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2015 | #8,914 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2014 | #10,919 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #10,966 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2012 | #10,395 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #12,114 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #14,880 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #9,359 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2008 | #9,446 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2007 | #10,788 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #10,579 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2005 | #14,449 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #9,862 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #11,289 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #8,266 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2001 | #9,328 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #10,720 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1999 | #12,646 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1998 | #12,396 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1997 | #13,680 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #11,768 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1994 | #13,389 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #9,532 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #13,107 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #10,172 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #12,331 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #8,375 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1987 | #11,289 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #8,511 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #12,470 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #10,393 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #8,037 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1982 | #9,222 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #8,119 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #11,436 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1977 | #6,335 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1976 | #9,270 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #10,594 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #6,072 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #8,271 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1971 | #7,378 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1959 | #7,193 | 5 | 0.0002% |
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 Yaffa Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Yaffa's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yaffa's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.