Given name & surname
Hawa
“one who is desired”
Hawa is used as a given name and a surname. One African interpretation is “one who is desired.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One African interpretation is “one who is desired.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is African.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1978. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Hawa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,373
- 0 boys · 2,373 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 125 babies
- 2025
- 111
- #1,813 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +11%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 111 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,813 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 10.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (17). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,022 as a first name in 2020; 417 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Hawa’s family of names
In Northern Kurdish usage, Hawa has a conventional equivalent in the English form Eve. Hawa has a related form in Hawah. Hawa is a Roman-alphabet rendering of Һава.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
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 Hawa
- Hawa AbdiSomalian physician, activist (1947-2020)
- Hawa Abdallah Mohammed SalihSudanese activistborn 1984
- Hawa YakubuGhanaian politician (1948–2007)
- Hawa Ahmed YoussoufDjiboutian politicianborn 1966
- Hawa N'DiayeFrench-Senegalese handball playerborn 1995
- Hawa EssumanKenyan film director and screenwriterborn 1980
- Hawa Aden MohamedSomali teacher and activist, recipient of Nansen Refugee Award (2012)born 1949
- Hawa Al-TagtagaSudanese singer, composer and activist1926–2012
- Hawa CissokoFrench association football playerborn 1997
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Hawa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Hada
“from the salty place”
>99% girls
Anaya
“one who looks up to God”
>99% girls
Afia
“born on a Friday”
>99% girls
Safia
“one who is pure” · “having the lion's share”
>99% girls
Yemaya
“an intelligent woman”
>99% girls
Yuna
“a gorgeous woman”
>99% girls
Khadija
“a perfect woman” · “a child born prematurely”
>99% girls
Mariama
“a gift from God”
>99% girls