Aisha
Meaning
alive, thriving; a beloved classic honoring the Prophet Muhammad's wife, popular since the 1970s
Say it: eye-EE-shah (also said EYE-sha)
The story
Aisha means living or alive in Arabic, from a root meaning to live, one of the most life-affirming meanings a name can hold. It is among the most honored names in Islam, borne by Aisha, a wife of the Prophet Muhammad and daughter of Abu Bakr, remembered as one of the earliest and most learned voices of the faith, a teacher whose accounts became a major source of Islamic tradition. That gives the name deep reverence alongside its bright meaning. Loved across the Muslim world and, since the 1970s, widely in the United States among Black American families, Aisha reads as current as it has ever been, in spellings from Ayesha to Aicha. Warm, graceful and full of life, Aisha hands a child a name that means alive and honors a woman remembered for her learning and her voice.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Aisha peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
4,953 people · the #2,753 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 41,667 · median age 8
Among people named Aisha living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 1,095 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Aisha
Most people given the name Aisha in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Aisha deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Aisha truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Aisha fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Aisha travels
Arab American · alive, prosperous (name of a wife of the Prophet Muhammad)
Indian American · alive, prosperous (name of a wife of the Prophet Muhammad; a staple in Indian Muslim American families)
Arabic · alive, prosperous
Keep exploring
Arab American baby names · Arabic baby names · Indian American baby names · African American baby names
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