Fun Facts About the Name Yamina
- 196 babies named Yamina: U.S. records list 196 babies given the name Yamina from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Yamina Mean?
Yamina is a feminine name from the Arabic yamīn (يمين), which means "right hand" or "right side." The same root, y-m-n, gives yumn ("good fortune, blessing") and maymūn ("fortunate"). Because the right hand was linked with strength and favor in Arab custom, Yamina is widely understood to mean "blessed" or "fortunate" - a customary reading built on that association rather than a second literal meaning of the word itself.
Hebrew has a word from the same Semitic root: yāmīn (יָמִין) means "right hand" and also "south," and the feminine yeminá (יְמִינָה) means "rightward" or "to the right." That feminine form is also used as a given name in modern Hebrew. The Arabic and Hebrew words are cognates, inherited from a shared Semitic root rather than borrowed from each other, so the name's two traditions are distinct but rest on the same idea of the right hand.
The biblical name Yemima (יְמִימָה), a daughter of Job, looks and sounds close to Yamina but is a separate name with its own uncertain etymology.
Yamina Name History & Origins
Yamina is long established as a woman's name in Arabic-speaking countries. It is common in the Maghreb - Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia - and is also found in Egypt and the Levant, alongside masculine and feminine names from the same root such as Yamin, Ayman, Yamna, Yumna, and Maymuna. Migration from North Africa during the twentieth century carried the name to France and elsewhere in Europe, where it continues in use; the French film director and politician Yamina Benguigui, born in Paris to Algerian parents, is one documented bearer.
In Hebrew, yamin is an old word, naming the right hand and the south in biblical Hebrew, but its feminine form yeminá came into use as a personal name in modern times, when Hebrew was revived as a spoken language and many older Hebrew words were adopted as given names. As a name, Yamina therefore belongs to two separate language communities, Arabic and Hebrew, each with its own development from the shared root.
One modern public use of the Hebrew word should be kept distinct from the personal name: the Israeli political party Yamina, formed in 2019, took its name from the Hebrew word for "rightward." That is a use of the vocabulary word, not of the given name.
How Popular is the Name Yamina?
Yamina 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 1995. Its best rank was #8,065 in 1995.
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 | #10,885 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #17,534 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #15,093 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #13,512 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2021 | #13,401 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2020 | #15,001 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #12,398 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #13,725 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #18,321 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #10,082 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #12,951 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #19,158 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #16,755 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2011 | #19,465 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #20,358 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #19,948 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #19,095 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #18,005 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2001 | #13,466 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #13,122 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1998 | #16,525 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1996 | #15,822 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #8,065 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #11,713 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1991 | #11,487 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #14,517 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #13,845 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #12,803 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #12,293 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #10,393 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #9,731 | 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 Yamina 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.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Yamina's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yamina's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.