| Short meaning of Yahya | Kind, Compassionate and Tenderhearted See below for detailed meaning |
|---|---|
| How to pronounce Yahya | Yes + hUmble + Hill + YArd Each block is a syllable. Thick black border indicates stress/emphasis. Other pronunciations are acceptable. |
| Arabic Spelling (How to write Yahya in Arabic) | يحيى |
| Quranic Nature (Learn more...) | Directly Mentioned |
| Alternate spellings of Yahya | Yahyaa Yahia Yahea Iahea Ieahia Yehia Yehiaa Yehea Yeheaa Yehya Yehyaa Yahia Yahiaa Yahea Yaheaa All of the above spellings are acceptable for this name. You may also create your own spelling. |
Meaning of Yahya
Yahya is a direct Quranic name for boys. It has a special significance since it was a divinely created and chosen name, as retold in the Surat Maryam 19:7
O Zachariah, We bring you good news of a son whose name shall be Yahya. We have not given such a name to anyone before.
Yahya is one of the high status prophets, mentioned in a number of places in the Quran, such as in the same sura as above:
12. O Yahya! take hold of the Book with strength, and We granted him wisdom while yet a child
13. And hananan (tenderness) from Us and purity, and he was one who guarded (against evil),
14. And dutiful to his parents, and he was not insolent, disobedient.
15. And peace on him on the day he was born, and on the day he dies, and on the day he is raised to life. (Quran 19:12-15)
The meaning of Yahya isn’t certain because it is not necessarily Arabic, though it is likely related to Arabic in being a Hebrew/Aramaic name. In Arabic it literally means “He lives”, and the scholars say this means that his legacy will continue to live forever. It could also refer to the fact that he was brought to life in his mother’s womb even though she was barren and her husband an old man.
The word hananan in verse 13 above, which means tenderness, is only mentioned in that one place in the Quran in regards to Yahya, and it also happens to be the root of the Hebrew name for Prophet Yahya: Yohanan. Due to this relationship between Yahya and Hanan, it is possible that the meaning of Yahya has relations to the word “tenderness”.
Reader Comments:
on Thursday 17th of September 2015 05:27:06 PM
Beautiful and unique name. My name is Yahya too. I like it.
on Friday 9th of October 2015 07:21:39 PM
I named my daughter Yahya meaning….in swahili. God’s gift.
on Wednesday 21st of October 2015 01:17:09 PM
my name is yahya too.. and my frnds love it… it’s beautiful unique name..
on Friday 27th of November 2015 01:27:06 PM
my 1st name is Faisal-Yahya-Ahmed…. do all the meanings relate to me ?
on Saturday 12th of March 2016 09:15:29 AM
my little baby brother called yahya i miss him really luv u bro
on Thursday 17th of March 2016 02:36:36 PM
At Fajr prayer today Allah saw fit for my Imam gave me my name يحيى
May I serve you to the best of my ability
on Saturday 21st of May 2016 07:14:56 AM
my name is yahaya. a beautifull name. i like my name too much.
on Friday 24th of June 2016 05:36:36 AM
I’m yahya ceesay from Gambia I really love Allah Muhammad yahya I’m happy to be call yahya
on Friday 15th of July 2016 08:57:12 PM
I had a cxousin called yahya, but he sadly died at the age of 3 minths
on Friday 15th of July 2016 08:58:16 PM
my cousin is yayah and I am hibah
hibah= meaning gift and present
on Saturday 1st of October 2016 02:28:31 PM
my name too is yahaya ibn ibrahim two beautiful name…I love my name
on Monday 23rd of January 2017 07:25:01 PM
me too my name is yahya I like the meaning tenderness
on Friday 2nd of June 2017 08:25:40 PM
What does “Usairim” means?
Muhammad usairim is meaningful?
on Sunday 30th of July 2017 05:07:48 AM
My name is also Mohammad Yahya…. I am thankful to my parents for this Unique name
on Thursday 3rd of August 2017 08:06:00 PM
My name is yahya and am proud of the name and I thank Allah subhanahu watalla for this n
on Friday 29th of June 2018 12:29:21 AM
87:13 ثُمَّ لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيَىٰ
In which they will then neither die nor live.
This ayat has the word Yahya in it which is what the reference is to from the above description. It is explained that in Arabic, “Yahya” means “He lives”.
on Wednesday 29th of August 2018 12:58:36 PM
My brothers name is yah ya
I find it scary how they have all died young
My brother also died at 3 months
on Tuesday 4th of September 2018 06:22:13 PM
My brother is called yahya he left after 8 minutes
on Friday 28th of September 2018 07:49:38 PM
This is my beautiful baby brothers name lit would’ve been his third birthday today
on Saturday 29th of September 2018 07:39:56 AM
This is my beautiful sons name
Thanks for the info
on Saturday 29th of September 2018 03:41:10 PM
My son is yahya
He left two days after he was born
Miss you babe
on Monday 8th of October 2018 08:31:20 AM
I find it scary how all these yahyas have died and the meaning means alive
My baby yah ya is alive and I love him
on Sunday 21st of October 2018 09:59:49 AM
My beautiful baby boy is called yahya
It suits him well
His father is called zakariyyah
on Monday 26th of November 2018 08:32:12 AM
My son name is also muhammad Yahya islam. I like this name also my family’s. Praying to Allah give him nake hayath in tayba
on Thursday 6th of December 2018 05:45:08 PM
Thank you Allah for helping my brave soldier yahya fight through the horrible battle
And events welcomed him into the world
So proud of you my little star
Yahya is a beautiful name for my beautiful boy
on Wednesday 22nd of May 2019 12:29:44 PM
My name is yahiya too I love
the name it is a unique name
on Monday 27th of May 2019 06:46:18 PM
am naqeeb am a muslim and my brother is Yahya and me and Yahya is unquine
on Sunday 30th of June 2019 09:25:07 AM
Yahya is a beautiful name. Love it
Thank you for the info
My baby boy is called yahya
Big bro Eesa is v.happy to meet him
Aaaww
on Sunday 18th of August 2019 01:45:03 PM
My name is Iahia too and where I go all like my name because it is a unique name but I am a girl.
on Saturday 21st of December 2019 11:28:55 AM
My name Yahya and am verry proud of dat name wallahi.Alhamdulillahi for the gift of Allah
on Sunday 12th of July 2020 03:36:00 PM
I believe that the word “Yahya”Aleyhi Salam means The Pure
on Saturday 7th of August 2021 07:57:35 PM
Write your comment boyfriend name is yahya .i love him so much.
on Friday 19th of November 2021 12:21:44 PM
My name is yahya and I love the name it is unique name.
on Sunday 5th of December 2021 04:49:32 AM
Yahya is from the Hebrew word Yohanan, a short form of Yehohanan, meaning Yehowah (YHWH) is gracious! YHWH is the God of Abraham.
on Sunday 20th of March 2022 09:34:15 AM
My name is yahya.I love the name it is unique name
on Wednesday 20th of April 2022 05:10:45 AM
The English equivalent is “John”.
Also, it’s kind of well known that Yahya means “YHWH is Gracious” (from Yohanan) or “YHWH Lives” (from Yehia).
That is, the name in the quran directly refers to the Jewish god YHWH, and not Allah or “god” in general/as a title.
And YHWH appears nowhere in the quran, because the quran insists that the name of god is actually Allah.
Oops!
So, all these people saying what a beautiful name it is are accidentally recognizing that the quran is false.
on Wednesday 20th of April 2022 05:14:11 AM
Worse, of course, is that “Allah” named the child of Zachariah – which, by the way, means “YHWH Remembers” – himself. But named the baby after YHWH instead of Allah (e.g “Abdullah”).
Allah doesn’t know his own name.
Double-oops.
on Friday 5th of August 2022 06:40:06 AM
My son is Yahya, allahumma barik
He’s suchha sweet heart and precious