| Safa | Dua | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Purity, clarity, serenity | Prayer, supplication |
| Origin | arabic | arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | sah-FAH | doo-AH |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2025 (249) | 2025 (231) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Rising | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Safa | Dua |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 984 | 889 |
| 2010s | 1,006 | 410 |
| 2000s | 627 | 164 |
| 1990s | 243 | 22 |
| 1980s | 71 | 0 |
| 1970s | 8 | 0 |
Safa (صفا / صفاء, safa') derives from the root s-f-w and means 'purity, clarity, serenity'. It is also the name of Al-Safa, one of the two hills in Mecca (with Al-Marwah) between which pilgrims walk during the Hajj and Umrah.
Dua (دعاء, du'a') means 'prayer, supplication, invocation', from the Arabic root d-'-w. In Islamic practice du'a refers specifically to personal prayer or calling upon God.
Safa and Dua are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Safa means Purity, clarity, serenity (arabic origin), while Dua means Prayer, supplication (arabic origin).
In US records, Safa first appears in 0 and Dua in 0, so Safa has the longer recorded history.