Girl · Arabic · Muslim · International
Fatima
فاطمہSay it FAA-ti-ma
- Meaning today
- One who abstains, captivating
- Original meaning
- "a woman who weans a suckling child" Lane, p. 2418
- Say it
- FAA-ti-ma
- Written
- فاطمہ
- Other spellings
- Fatimah, Fathima, Fatma
Fatima
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Fatima meaning
Fatima (فاطمہ) is a Muslim and international girl's name of Arabic origin.
A woman who weans a suckling child
Also used to mean: one who abstains, captivating
Fatima (فاطمہ) is the feminine active participle of Arabic faṭama, "to wean". Lane's Lexicon gives the plain sense, a woman who weans a suckling child, and a figurative one, weaning someone from a habit or desire; under this root he also records Fāṭima as a woman's proper name. Name lists today often give "one who abstains", which extends that figurative sense, and sometimes "captivating", which has no dictionary support. The name is honoured above all as that of Fāṭima (d. 632/633), daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, wife of ʿAlī and mother of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, venerated by many Muslims and especially by the Shia. The Fatimid dynasty took its name from her, and Fāṭima al-Fihrī founded the Qarawiyyīn in Fez in 859.
Source: Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon, Book I, Part 6 (1877), p. 2418 · entry فاطمة (root فطم) · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Lane, Arabic–English Lexicon, Book I Part 6, fāṭima, p. 2418 · Britannica, Fāṭimah · Britannica, Ahl al-Bayt · Britannica, Fāṭimid dynasty · Britannica, Qarawiyyīn
Famous namesakes
- Fāṭima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and wife of ʿAlī
- Fāṭima al-Fihrī, founder of the Qarawiyyīn in Fez (859)
Popularity abroad
- #330 United States, girls 2025 (down 14 from 316 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #79 England and Wales, girls 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Fatima · Fatimah · Fathima · Fatma