Ruqaiyah

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Ruqaiyah: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Ruqaiyah: Recorded since 1996, it reached #1,238 in 2001, and it stood at #3,015 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
28times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#1238highest recorded position
7groupings it qualifies for

England and Wales · Girls

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#2350
1997	#1958
1998	#2407
1999	#1805
2000	#1594
2001	#1238
2002	#1928
2003	#1843
2004	#3197
2005	#2682
2006	#1660
2007	#2085
2008	#3397
2009	#2535
2010	#3533
2011	#2150
2012	#2717
2014	#2464
2015	#1865
2016	#2233
2017	#2925
2018	#2499
2019	#2286
2020	#3117
2021	#3519
2022	#5669
2023	#4056
2024	#3015

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in 28 of the 29 years from 1996 to 2024.

Official data for England and Wales, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #2350 among girls in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #1238 among girls in England and Wales, in 2001 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3015 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Ruqaiyah by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Ruqaiyah in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	29	4 of 10	7
2000sbusiest	98	10 of 10	10
2010s	93	9 of 10	10
2020s	29	5 of 10	6

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 10 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Ruqaiyah appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1238 in England and Wales in 2001.

Ruqaiyah's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#3015	8	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#4056	5	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#5669	3	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#3519	6	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#3117	7	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#2286	11	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#2499	10	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#2925	8	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#2233	12	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#1865	15	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#2464	10	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2717	9	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#2150	12	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#3533	6	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#2535	9	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#3397	6	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#2085	11	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#1660	14	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#2682	7	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#3197	5	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#1843	10	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1928	9	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1238	16	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1594	11	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1805	9	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#2407	6	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1958	8	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#2350	6	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 28 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #1,238, first reached in 2001.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 16 births, registered in England and Wales in 2001.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

4decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 4 decades →
17 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years10 to 19 unbroken years →
2separate stretches the record falls into2 separate stretches →
1 yearlongest absence inside the recorded periodA single year missing →
#3,015position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
16births registered in its largest year, 2001Under 25 births →

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Rupert · #80, 35y
Ruqaiya · #2042, 22y
Ruqaya · #1411, 24y
Ruqayya · #811, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Raheema · #1238, 28y
Shaina · #1238, 27y
Azad · #1236, 28y
Abrar · #1235, 29y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Raheema · #1238, 28y
Shaina · #1238, 27y
Azad · #1236, 28y
Abrar · #1235, 29y

Ruqaiyah and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Ruqaiyah without appearing here.

Ruqaiyah moved ahead of

Debra Compare
In 2023 they stood at #5669 and #5669 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3015 and #5891.
Kirsten Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4056 and #4056 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3015 and #5891.
Rian Compare
In 2011 they stood at #3533 and #3533 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2012 that had become #2717 and #4838.
Jeanette Compare
In 1998 they stood at #2407 and #2407 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1999 that had become #1805 and #3900.

Moved ahead of Ruqaiyah

Francis Compare
In 2021 they stood at #3519 and #4634 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2022 that had become #5669 and #2488.
Meabh Compare
In 2020 they stood at #3117 and #3447 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #3519 and #1286.
Eabha Compare
In 2019 they stood at #2286 and #2458 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #3117 and #1313.
Rory Compare
In 2019 they stood at #2286 and #4001 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #3117 and #1939.

Moved the opposite way to Ruqaiyah

Blake Compare
Between 1997 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Ruqaiyah went from #1958 to #3015 while Blake went from #3824 to #432.
Ezra Compare
Between 1997 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Ruqaiyah went from #1958 to #3015 while Ezra went from #3824 to #1302.
Frida Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Ruqaiyah went from #1805 to #3015 while Frida went from #3900 to #811.
Meabh Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Ruqaiyah went from #1805 to #3015 while Meabh went from #3225 to #952.

Moved the same way as Ruqaiyah

Kristin Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Girls, Ruqaiyah went from #2350 to #4056 and Kristin from #1434 to #5687.
Therese Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Girls, Ruqaiyah went from #2350 to #4056 and Therese from #2096 to #4709.
Tracey Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Girls, Ruqaiyah went from #2350 to #4056 and Tracey from #783 to #5687.
Carol Compare
Between 1996 and 2021 in England and Wales · Girls, Ruqaiyah went from #2350 to #3519 and Carol from #802 to #3519.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1238 in England and Wales in 2001. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Ruqaiyah

Ruqaiyah at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Ruqaiyah by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Ruqaiyah appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Ruqaiyah and the names beside it

Ruqaiyah moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ruqaiyah

Moved the opposite way to Ruqaiyah

Moved the same way as Ruqaiyah

Ruqaiyah at a glance

Ruqaiyah by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Ruqaiyah appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Ruqaiyah and the names beside it

Ruqaiyah moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ruqaiyah

Moved the opposite way to Ruqaiyah

Moved the same way as Ruqaiyah