Rabia
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Arabic, meaning spring, meant to symbolize the beginning of life, hope and the advent of happiness after a dark winter. The name of the first female Sufi saint, Rabia El Basri. From Arabic رَابِعَة (rābiʕa), the feminine of رَبِيع (rabīʕ, “spring”) as well as رَابِع (rābiʕ, “fourth”), from أَرْبَعَة (ʔarbaʕa, “four”). Hence Rabia means both "spring" and "the fourth female".
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Rabia (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, Rabia has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2012. 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 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | 4 |
| 2007 | – |
| 2008 | 3 |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 3 |
| 2012 | 6 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2016 | – |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 118 | – |
| 2000 | 123 | – |
| 2001 | 132 | – |
| 2002 | 138 | – |
| 2003 | 146 | – |
| 2004 | 151 | – |
| 2005 | 156 | – |
| 2006 | 166 | – |
| 2007 | 169 | – |
| 2008 | 179 | 10 |
| 2009 | 188 | 10 |
| 2010 | 207 | 10 |
| 2011 | 222 | – |
| 2012 | 239 | – |
| 2013 | 251 | – |
| 2014 | 272 | 13 |
| 2015 | 278 | 16 |
| 2016 | 295 | 19 |
| 2017 | 316 | 21 |
| 2018 | 337 | 22 |
| 2019 | 353 | 23 |
| 2020 | 351 | 23 |
Rabia in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Rabia.Hi! My name is Rabia.
- Rabia har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Rabia has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Vet du om Rabia kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Rabia is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Rabias mamma är lärare.Rabia's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Rabias mamma is Rabia's mum.
More names
Questions about Rabia
How do you pronounce Rabia in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Rabia in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Rabia mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Arabic, meaning spring, meant to symbolize the beginning of life, hope and the advent of happiness after a dark winter. The name of the first female Sufi saint, Rabia El Basri. From Arabic رَابِعَة (rābiʕa), the feminine of رَبِيع (rabīʕ, “spring”) as well as رَابِع (rābiʕ, “fourth”), from أَرْبَعَة (ʔarbaʕa, “four”). Hence Rabia means both "spring" and "the fourth female".
How popular is Rabia in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Rabia in 2022. In 2020, 374 people in Sweden had Rabia as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2012 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.