Yahya sits comfortably in the UK charts at #81 in 2025 — recognisable but not overwhelming. Your child may occasionally share their name.
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UK Rank 2025
#81
US Rank #616
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About the Name Yahya
2024 marks Yahya's peak year in UK records so far, sitting at UK #93. The name has climbed 58 places in the last five years — a significant surge by any measure. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996. It briefly reached the UK top 100, though it typically sits a little further down the charts.
Yahya is a very popular name in the UK — yet a class of 28 is small enough that your child will very likely be the only Yahya on the register.
In the US it sits at #706 — notably more popular in the UK than across the Atlantic.
⭐ Famous People Named Yahya
Yahya Saree — Yahya Qasim Saree is a Yemeni military officer who serves as the spokesperson for the Supreme Political Council-led Yemeni Armed Forces, a renegade faction of Yemen's armed forces aligned with Ansar Allah.
Ahmed Yahya — Ahmed Yahya Mahmoud Al-Hajjaj is an Iraqi professional footballer who currently plays for Iraq Stars League club Al-Shorta and the Iraq national team.
Yahya Jammeh — Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is a Gambian politician and former soldier, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017.
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 Yahya
Unlikely. With around 625 UK babies named Yahya per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Yahya in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Yahya is at its highest recorded position — #81 in 2025, with 625 births. In 2020 it ranked #151.
Yahya is more popular in the UK (#93) than in the US (#706). Names with strong rankings in both countries tend to have broad cross-cultural appeal, working well for international families or those with ties to both nations.
Notable people named Yahya include: Yahya Saree, Ahmed Yahya and Yahya Jammeh. Short summaries for each appear below.
Yahya ranks #706 in the US top 1,000 (2024). It's recognised in America but considerably more popular in the UK.
625
UK babies named Yahya (2025)
~0.0
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.3
In a school of 600
↑ 70 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Yahya
Almost certainly the only Yahya in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
US Popularity (2022–2024)
Rank · SSA official data
✨ Similar names to Yahya
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Yahya Qasim Saree is a Yemeni military officer who serves as the spokesperson for the Supreme Political Council-led Yemeni Armed Forces, a renegade faction of Yemen's armed forces aligned with Ansar Allah.
ibn Yahya (or ibn Yachya) may refer to: David ibn Yaḥya ben Solomon rabbi of Lisbon, author of the "Leshon Limmudim" Gedaliah ibn Yahya ben Joseph (c. 1515 – c.
Yahya Hassan was a Danish poet and political activist of Palestinian descent, whose poems and public statements criticizing both Islam and Danish policies on migration and participation in armed conflicts made him a much-debated and controversial figure.