| Sumaya | Huda | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Little distinguishing mark; (also read as 'exalted') | Guidance |
| Origin | arabic | Arabic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | soo-MY-yah | HOO-dah |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1976 |
| Peak year | 2016 (109) | 2025 (117) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 117 |
| Trend | Steady | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Sumaya | Huda |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 413 | 479 |
| 2010s | 923 | 600 |
| 2000s | 631 | 518 |
| 1990s | 144 | 277 |
| 1980s | 26 | 125 |
| 1970s | 0 | 22 |
| 1960s | 5 | 0 |
Sumaya (سمية, Sumayya) is a diminutive whose root is debated: classical research links it to the root w-s-m, giving 'a small distinguishing mark' and figuratively 'unique, special', while other sources derive it from s-m-w ('high, elevated') for a sense of 'exalted'. It is historically revered as the name of Sumayya bint Khayyat, regarded as the first martyr of Islam. Also spelled Sumayya or Sumayyah.
Huda means “right guidance” in Arabic.
Huda is more popular than Sumaya today: about 117 US babies were given the name Huda in 2025, compared with 0 named Sumaya.
Sumaya means Little distinguishing mark; (also read as 'exalted') (arabic origin), while Huda means Guidance (Arabic origin).
In US records, Sumaya first appears in 0 and Huda in 1976, so Sumaya has the longer recorded history.