Boy · Arabic (Quranic name) · Muslim · International
Yahya
یحییٰSay it YAH-yaa
- Meaning today
- He lives, God is gracious
- Original meaning
- "John the Baptist in the Quran; in Arabic form, 'he lives'" The Quran, 19:7
- Say it
- YAH-yaa
- Written
- یحییٰ
- Other spellings
- Yehya, Yahyaa
Yahya
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Yahya meaning
Yahya (یحییٰ) is a Muslim and international boy's name of Arabic origin (Quranic name).
John the Baptist in the Quran; in Arabic form, 'he lives'
Also used to mean: God is gracious
Yahya (یحییٰ) is the Quranic name of John the Baptist, son of the prophet Zechariah. The Quran tells how Zechariah, in his old age, received the good news of a son called Yaḥyā, a name it says had not been given to anyone before (19:7). In form the name is the Arabic verb "he lives", from ḥayiya, "to live", which Lane explains together with its senses of quickening and reviving. The Gospel name John goes back to Hebrew Yehoḥanan, which Strong's Concordance explains as "Jehovah-favored", and name lists often borrow that sense as "God is gracious". The Arabic reading follows the form of the name itself. In India it is also spelled Yehya.
Source: The Quran, 19:7 · entry Yaḥyā (يَحْيَىٰ) · See the entry
In the Quran: 19:7 (Yaḥyā (يَحْيَىٰ)) · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Quran 19:7 · Lane, ḥ-y-y, pp. 679–681 (Part 2 scan, leaves 314–316) · Strong's H3076, Yehochanan
Famous namesakes
- Yaḥyā (John the Baptist), prophet in the Quran
Popularity abroad
- #616 United States, boys 2025 (up 91 from 707 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #81 England and Wales, boys 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Yahya · Yehya · Yahyaa