Fatima
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Arabic, of Muslim and Catholic usage, in the latter case in honor of Our Lady of Fátima. From Arabic فَاطِمَة (fāṭima). The name Fatima is from the Arabic root f-t-m (lit. 'to wean') and signifies the Shia belief that she, her progeny, and her adherents (Shi'a) have been spared from hellfire. Alternatively, the word Fatima is associated in Shia sources with Fatir (lit. 'creator', a name of God) as the earthly symbol of the divine creative power.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Fatima (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Fatima has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2017. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 29 |
| 1999 | 32 |
| 2000 | 26 |
| 2001 | 38 |
| 2002 | 39 |
| 2003 | 38 |
| 2004 | 28 |
| 2005 | 43 |
| 2006 | 44 |
| 2007 | 45 |
| 2008 | 45 |
| 2009 | 64 |
| 2010 | 72 |
| 2011 | 57 |
| 2012 | 73 |
| 2013 | 68 |
| 2014 | 55 |
| 2015 | 76 |
| 2016 | 78 |
| 2017 | 87 |
| 2018 | 84 |
| 2019 | 79 |
| 2020 | 60 |
| 2021 | 63 |
| 2022 | 54 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 1,654 |
| 2000 | 1,703 |
| 2001 | 1,789 |
| 2002 | 1,856 |
| 2003 | 1,921 |
| 2004 | 1,972 |
| 2005 | 2,033 |
| 2006 | 2,149 |
| 2007 | 2,251 |
| 2008 | 2,348 |
| 2009 | 2,483 |
| 2010 | 2,578 |
| 2011 | 2,707 |
| 2012 | 2,863 |
| 2013 | 3,064 |
| 2014 | 3,281 |
| 2015 | 3,583 |
| 2016 | 4,041 |
| 2017 | 4,469 |
| 2018 | 4,816 |
| 2019 | 5,016 |
| 2020 | 5,114 |
Fatima in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Fatima.Hi! My name is Fatima.
- Fatima bor i Göteborg och pluggar till sjuksköterska.Fatima lives in Gothenburg and is training to be a nurse.
- Vet du om Fatima kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Fatima is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Fatimas mamma är lärare.Fatima's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Fatimas mamma is Fatima's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Fatima
How do you pronounce Fatima in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Fatima in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Fatima mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Arabic, of Muslim and Catholic usage, in the latter case in honor of Our Lady of Fátima. From Arabic فَاطِمَة (fāṭima). The name Fatima is from the Arabic root f-t-m (lit. 'to wean') and signifies the Shia belief that she, her progeny, and her adherents (Shi'a) have been spared from hellfire. Alternatively, the word Fatima is associated in Shia sources with Fatir (lit. 'creator', a name of God) as the earthly symbol of the divine creative power.
How popular is Fatima in Sweden?
54 babies were named Fatima in 2022. In 2020, 5,114 people in Sweden had Fatima as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2017 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.