Basma
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Meaning
smile; famously borne by Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan, human rights advocate
The story
Basma means smile in Arabic, one of those names that is simply a warm word worn openly. Its most distinguished bearer is Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan, the youngest sibling of the late King Hussein, who chose a working life over a ceremonial one: for decades she has led development programs in Jordan, championed women's rights and rural communities, and served with United Nations agencies on human development and health. In the Arab world the name is familiar and well loved, given in the straightforward hope that a daughter's life will be full of smiling. In the United States it has never taken hold, appearing only faintly and only in recent records, which leaves Basma an uncommon find here: two easy syllables, a meaning anyone can feel without translation, and a princess who spent her rank on good works.
How popular is Basma around the world?
In the United States, 110 babies were named Basma between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 55 girls named Basma were born in 2025, the 746th most common name among girls that year.
Basma is on the official records of the United States, France, Spain, Austria, Canada and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 200,000
In the United States, 110 babies were named Basma between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Basma has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
France
1 in 12,000
In France, about 55 girls named Basma were born in 2025, the 746th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 19,000
In Spain, 2,376 residents are named Basma, the 819th most common name among women, with a mean age of 12.5 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 2 girls named Basma were born in 2025, ranked 1,305th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Canada
1 in 73,000
In Canada, 5 girls named Basma were born in 2024, ranked 3,457th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 84,000
In England and Wales, 7 girls named Basma were born in 2025, ranked 3,333rd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
last on record 2014
Basma is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Basma
Most people given the name Basma in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Basma deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Basma 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 Basma fits with your family’s names and surname.
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