Girl · Arabic · Muslim
Asma
اسماءSay it AS-maa
Asma meaning
Asma (اسماء) is a Muslim girl's name of Arabic origin.
Meaning today
Exalted, lofty, high
Original Arabic meaning
"names (plural of ism); from s-m-w, 'to be high'"
Source: Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon, Book I, Part 4 (1872), p. 1435 · entry ism (اِسْمٌ), pl. asmāʾ (أَسْمَآءٌ), root s-m-w · See the entry
In the Quran: 7:180 (al-asmāʾ (ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ)) · checked 25 Oct 2026
Asma (اسماء) is the Arabic asmāʾ, the plural of ism, "name". Lane defines ism as a sign, spoken or written, that conveys knowledge of a thing, and derives it from the root s-m-w, "to be high", explaining that a name raises the thing it denotes into notice. The phrase al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā, "the most beautiful names", refers to the names of God (7:180). Name lists give Asma as "exalted" or "lofty", which echoes the root rather than the word itself. The name is honoured through Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr, sister of ʿĀʾisha, who helped the Prophet and her father on their migration to Medina and was remembered as "she of the two belts".
References: Lane, s-m-w, p. 1435 (Part 4 scan, leaf 158) · Quran 7:180 · Wikipedia, Asma bint Abi Bakr
Famous namesakes
- Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr, companion of the Prophet
Popularity abroad
- #650 England and Wales, girls 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Asma · Asmaa · Esma