Given name & surname

Medina

“from the city of the prophet”

Medina is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “from the city of the prophet.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

One Arabic interpretation is “from the city of the prophet.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.

How it developed

From Spanish Medina.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1948. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Medina through the years

Babies since 1880
1,987
0 boys · 1,987 girls
Most popular year
2024
60 babies
2025
35
#4,138 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20
+35%
Rising
0102030401960198020002025Highest share 202422
Medina in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1948–2025, per million girls born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Where it’s given

Most at home inIllinois, New York
FewerMore, relative to births Not published
2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Illinois (5), New York (5).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 35 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,138 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 35.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Illinois and New York shared the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (5 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,208 as a first name in 2020; 186,456 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.

Medina’s family of names

Medina has a related form in Mdina. Medina has a related form in Medeana. Medina has a related form in Medeena.

Walk Medina’s family in the name graph

MedinaMadinahΜεδίναMedinahMedeanaMedeinaMedienaMedeenahMedeenaMedynahMedynaMdinaМедина

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 9

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Show 1 moreShow fewer

Spellings & scripts 2

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 Medina

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Medina, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Persian · Biblical

Homon

Homon is a given name, probably from Biblical Hebrew, ultimately from Old Persian. It is used in Judeo-Tat.

No U.S. birth series

—

Biblical

Devora

“bee”

38RareRising

>99% girls

Hawaiian · Biblical

Kala

“son of the sun”

16Very rareCooling

>99% girls

Biblical

Rivkah

28RareRising

>99% girls

Biblical

Devorah

“bee”

45UncommonRising

>99% girls

Biblical Hebrew · Biblical

Iza

Iza is a feminine given name from Polish, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Polish, Hungarian, and Slovak.

17Very rareRising

3% boys · 97% girls

Biblical Hebrew · Biblical

یوسفی

“to add”

No U.S. birth series

—

Biblical Hebrew · Biblical

हव्वा

हव्वा (havvā) is a feminine given name from Classical Persian, ultimately from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Hindi.

No U.S. birth series

>99% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Medina’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Medina

A sister for Medina