Arafat is a distinctive choice, ranked #1406 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Arafat in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#1406
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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 โ and current momentum suggests it could challenge that mark again. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Arafat is uncommon in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Arafat in their class.
โญ Famous People Named Arafat
Arafat Minhas โ Arafat Minhas is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan cricket team and Multan Sultans.
Mohammad Ali Arafat โ Mohammad Ali Arafat is a Bangladeshi politician and academic affiliated with Bangladesh Awami League.
Yasser Arafat โ Yasser Arafat, also popularly known by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Arafat
Unlikely. With around 19 UK babies named Arafat per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Arafat in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Arafat is at its highest recorded position โ #1,406 in 2025, with 19 births. In 2020 it ranked #3,848.
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, Mohammad Ali Arafat and Suha Arafat. Short summaries for each appear below.
Arafat does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice โ your child is unlikely to encounter American Arafats in the wild.
19
UK babies named Arafat (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↑ 2442 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
Almost certainly the only Arafat in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
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
Suha Arafat (Arabic: ุณูู ุนุฑูุงุช; born Suha Daoud Tawil (Arabic: ุณูู ุฏุงูุฏ ุงูุทููู) 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.
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 Coupรฉ-Dรฉcalรฉ genre.