Given name
Hanifa
“a true believer; one who is upright”·“a true believer of Islam”
Hanifa is a feminine form of Hanif. One Arabic interpretation is “a true believer of Islam.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Arabic use, Hanifa carries the interpretation “a true believer; one who is upright.” Hanifa is a feminine form of Hanif. One Arabic interpretation is “a true believer of Islam.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
How it developed
Hanifa is used as a feminine counterpart of Hanif.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1980. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Hanifa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 293
- 0 boys · 293 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 28 babies
- 2025
- 19
- #6,192 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +25%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 19 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 6,192 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 25.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 630 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Hanifa’s family of names
Hanifa is a feminine form of Hanif. Hanifa has a related form in Hanifah. Hanifa has a related form in Haneefah.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Haneefahvariant
- Haneefavariant
- Hanifahvariant
- Hannifalikely variant
- Haniffalikely variant
- Haneafahvariant
- Haneafavariant
- Haniefahvariant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Hanifa
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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