Given name
Rafia
“an exalted woman”
Rafia is a variant of Rafi'a. One Arabic interpretation is “an exalted woman.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Rafia is a variant of Rafi'a. One Arabic interpretation is “an exalted woman.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Rafia is a variant of Rafi'a. An origin associated with Rafi'a is Arabic.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1988. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Rafia through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 105
- 0 boys · 105 girls
- Most popular year
- 2002
- 11 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2017. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 11 in 2002. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 729 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.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Rafia
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.