NameRealm
Farah

Farah: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“joy”
Origin
Arabic
Say it
FAH-rah · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls (98% of all uses)

From Arabic faraḥ, meaning 'joy' or 'happiness'. Also used in Persian-speaking contexts; a well-known bearer is Queen Farah Pahlavi of Iran.

Arabic namesPersian namesNames meaning joyInternational namesClassic names

How popular is Farah?

202450.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Farah in 2024167

2024 rank#1,363 girls

Peak year1976

Total US babies since 18806,212

Farah has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Farah

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Laylanight · Arabic
  • Lylanight · Arabic
  • Aaliyahexalted, rising · Arabic
  • Amiraprincess; commander · Arabic
  • Lilahnight · Arabic
  • Lilanight · Arabic
  • Nylaattainer; successful · Arabic
  • Zarablooming flower · Arabic

Farah questions

What does the name Farah mean?

Farah means "joy". It comes from Arabic. From Arabic faraḥ, meaning 'joy' or 'happiness'. Also used in Persian-speaking contexts; a well-known bearer is Queen Farah Pahlavi of Iran.

Is Farah a boy or girl name?

Farah is mainly a girl's name in US records (98% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Farah?

167 US babies were named Farah in 2024. Its peak year was 1976.

How do you pronounce Farah?

Farah is usually pronounced FAH-rah.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.