Medina
Feminine · “the city”
Medina is the Arabic word for a city, and it is the city — the one the Prophet went to, which is why the word became a name.
How old is the name Medina?
Medina first appears in US birth records in 1948 — 77 years ago. The typical Medina alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 1,900 people named Medina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Medina most popular?
Medina peaked in 1963, reaching #2489 nationally. Today it ranks #4067, 1,578 places below that high. See the whole 1963 chart.
Where it comes from
From madina to Medina
The story of Medina
Yathrib took in the Prophet and his followers in 622, and the migration marks the start of the Islamic calendar; the town became simply the City. It is the second holiest place in Islam and holds the Prophet's tomb. The word medina separately names the old quarter of Fez, Tunis and Marrakesh. As a personal name it is used in Muslim and Balkan communities and appears in American records from the 1960s.
Meaning
the city
From Arabic madina, a city; the full name of the place is al-Madina al-Munawwara, the enlightened city, and it was called Yathrib before. The word also names the old walled quarter of North African cities.
How the name formed
- madina
- Medina
Related forms: Madina · Medine · Medina
Pronouncing Medina
meh-DEE-nah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. There is little variation.
Nicknames for Medina
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
- 1948
- Most girls named
- 202355 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2489reached in 1963
- Change vs 2023
- −36.4%35 in 2025, from 55
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.
Medina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Madina in Arabic — transliteration
- Medine in Turkish — same name
- Medina in Bosnian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Illinois.
Medinas among us
people named Medina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 45,922 born in 2025 was named Medina
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 Modine test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Medina's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Modine climbed just as high around 1925, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Modine's path sketches the road Medina is walking now.
Medina 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
Where Medina is headed
Medina looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 29% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Medina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Medina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning tied to one of the most significant places in the world.
- Dina is a complete short form in its own right.
- Recognized across the Muslim world and the Balkans.
- It names a holy city, which carries weight some families will want to weigh.
- It is also a surname in Spanish-speaking countries, which causes confusion.
- Medina, Madina and Medine are all in use and mark different countries.
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What they receive
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Medina
Feminine · #4067 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Medinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Medina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Medina in 2025?
- Medina ranks #4067 among US girl names in 2025, with 35 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Medina?
- About 1 in every 45,922 US girls born in 2025 was named Medina — 35 in all.
- Will my child share the name Medina with classmates?
- Medina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Medina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eli#4067 · Peace#4067 · Darlin#4067 · Anja#4067 · Sparrow#4067 · Liani#4067 · Kaleigha#4067 · Salina#4067
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Medina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Medina and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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