Fatuma
Feminine · “one who weans”
Fatuma is what Fatima becomes in Swahili. East African languages reshaped the Arabic names that arrived with trade and Islam along the coast, and the result is a set of forms — Fatuma, Halima, Amina, Zuhura — that are ordinary in Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia and unfamiliar elsewhere. Its American record follows East African migration and peaks in the 2010s.
How old is the name Fatuma?
Fatuma first appears in US birth records in 1991 — 34 years ago. The typical Fatuma is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 600 people named Fatuma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Fatuma most popular?
Fatuma peaked in 2013, reaching #4076 nationally. Today it ranks #5722, 1,646 places below that high. See the whole 2013 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From f-t-m to Fatuma
The story of Fatuma
The Swahili coast has been in continuous contact with Arabia for more than a thousand years, and Swahili itself is a Bantu language with a very large Arabic vocabulary. Arabic names came with that traffic and were adapted to Bantu sound patterns: Fatima became Fatuma, Aisha became Asha, Khadija became Hadija. These are not corruptions but standard local forms, used on identity documents and in every register. Fatuma is common in Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia and the Comoros. American records show it rising from the 1990s with Somali and East African resettlement, and its peak in the 2010s reflects that community's growth rather than any change in fashion.
Meaning
one who weans; one who abstains
The Arabic root f-t-m concerns weaning — the separation of a child from the breast — and by extension abstaining or being cut off from something. Fatima is the classical feminine form. The name's standing comes almost entirely from Fatima bint Muhammad, the Prophet's daughter, one of the most revered women in Islam. Fatuma changes the vowel but not the word: Swahili phonology prefers the u in that position, and the name is understood as the same name throughout East Africa.
How the name formed
- f-t-m
- Fatima
- Fatuma
Related forms: Fatima · Fatuma · Faduma · Fatma
Pronouncing Fatuma
fah-TOO-mah
Three syllables, stress in the middle, with open vowels throughout — Swahili stress falls on the second-to-last syllable as a rule. English speakers reach this without difficulty; the only common error is a reduced final vowel.
Nicknames for Fatuma
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1991
- Most girls named
- 201336 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4076reached in 2013
- Change vs 2024
- −19.2%21 in 2025, from 26
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Fatuma in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Fatima in Arabic — related form
- Fatuma in Swahili — same name
- Faduma in Somali — spelling variant
- Fatma in Turkish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky.
Fatumas among us
people named Fatuma are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 76,537 born in 2025 was named Fatuma
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Crissa test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Fatuma's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Crissa climbed just as high around 1978, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Crissa's path sketches the road Fatuma is walking now.
Fatuma sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Fatuma beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Fatuma in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It carries one of the most widely honored names in the world in a distinctly East African form.
- Every sound in it is available in English, and the spelling is phonetic.
- Fatu is a short form recognized across a very large part of Africa.
- It will be corrected to Fatima by people who know only the Arabic form.
- The Somali Faduma and Swahili Fatuma are both in use and look like errors for each other.
- It has an unmistakable religious and regional frame, which is a strength or a consideration depending on the family.
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What they receive
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Fatuma
Feminine · #5722 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Fatumas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Fatuma are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Fatuma in 2025?
- Fatuma ranks #5722 among US girl names in 2025, with 21 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Fatuma?
- About 1 in every 76,537 US girls born in 2025 was named Fatuma — 21 in all.
- Will my child share the name Fatuma with classmates?
- Fatuma will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Fatuma
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rosina#5722 · Delores#5722 · Vaughn#5722 · Roseline#5722 · Loyal#5722 · Missy#5722 · Danitza#5722 · Margret#5722
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Fatuma? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Fatuma and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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