Arafat is a distinctive choice, ranked #1952 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Arafat in their class.
💎
UK Rank 2024
#1952
About the Name Arafat
Arafat is climbing rapidly up the charts, having climbed 1896 places in just five years. Its best recorded rank was #1578 in 2007 — and current momentum suggests it could challenge that mark again. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Arafat is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Arafat
Unlikely. With around 12 UK babies named Arafat per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Arafat in his class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Arafat is currently rising in popularity in the UK, up 1896 places over the last five years to #1952 in 2024. If this trend continues, it will become more common in classrooms over the next decade.
Arafat is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Arafat include: Arafat Minhas — Arafat Minhas is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan cricket team and Multan Sultans.; Mohammad Ali Arafat — Mohammad Ali Arafat is a Bangladeshi politician and academic affiliated with Bangladesh Awami League.; Suha Arafat — Suha Arafat (Arabic: سهى عرفات; born Suha Daoud Tawil (Arabic: سهى داود الطويل) on 17 July 1963) is the widow of former Palestinian National Authority....
Arafat does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Arafats in the wild.
12
UK babies named Arafat (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↑ 1896 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Arafat
Likely around 1 other Arafat in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Arafat
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Mohammad Ali Arafat is a Bangladeshi politician and academic affiliated with Bangladesh Awami League. He served as Minister of State for Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and as a member of Jatiya Sangsad for Dhaka-17 constituency in 2023-2024.
Yasser Arafat, also popularly known by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, President of Palestine from 1989 to 2004 and President of the Palestinian Authority (PNA) from 1994 to 2004.
Fathi Arafat was a Palestinian physician and a founder and long-term chairman of the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Born in Cairo, he studied medicine at Cairo University from 1950 until 1957 and thereafter practiced as a pediatrician in Egypt, Kuwait and Jordan.
Suha Arafat (Arabic: سهى عرفات; born Suha Daoud Tawil (Arabic: سهى داود الطويل) on 17 July 1963) is the widow of former Palestinian National Authority president Yasser Arafat.
Yasser Arafat, who was the President of the Palestinian National Authority and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, died unexpectedly on 11 November 2004, at the age of 75, after a short period of illness. The cause of his death has since been debated, and several different theories concerning it have been suggested.
Arafat Rahman, nicknamed "Koko" was a Bangladeshi cricket organizer and former chairman of the Development Committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board. He was the younger son of former president of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia.
Ange Didier Houon, known professionally as DJ Arafat and various other stage names, was an Ivorian disc jockey and singer who made music in the Coupé-Décalé genre. The word "coupé-décalé" came from a traditional dance in the Ivory Coast.