The baby name Bab is a Unisex name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /bɑːb/ (Persian/Arabic); /bæb/ or /bəb/ (English nickname).
The baby name Bab is a Unisex name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /bɑːb/ (Persian/Arabic); /bæb/ or /bəb/ (English nickname).
Bab is Arabic, Persian in Origin.
Bab is a crisp, antique pet form found in Scots and northern English use for Barbara, the Latin name from Greek barbaros “foreigner.” Parish records and literary dialect from the 18th–20th centuries show Bab alongside Babs and Barb as affectionate short forms; as a stand-alone given name it remains rare but recognizable. Related variants and cognates include Babs, Babbs, Barb, Barbie, Barbra, Babette, and Barbara’s international forms such as Varvara (Russian) and Bárbara (Spanish/Portuguese).
Across languages, Bab also aligns with Arabic and Persian bāb, meaning “gate” or “chapter,” best known from the 19th-century title “the Báb” (“the Gate”) used by Sayyid ‘Alí Muḥammad of Shiraz, a precursor to the Bahá’í Faith. While that title did not become a common given name, it lends Bab an additional layer of resonant meaning - doorway, opening, threshold. Modern usage of Bab is unisex, typically as a minimalist nickname or distinctive, pared-back first name.
Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.
| Country | Gender | Year | Rank | Born | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HT | Boys | 0 | #34 | 1 | 903 |
| GE | Boys | 0 | #110 | 1 | 2,055 |
| PH | 0 | #110 | 1 | 5,607 | |
| BN | Girls | 0 | #114 | 1 | 5,459 |
| OM | 0 | #121 | 1 | 6,215 | |
| IQ | 0 | #133 | 1 | 3,533 | |
| BN | Boys | 0 | #139 | 1 | 6,332 |
| HU | Boys | 0 | #174 | 1 | 3,954 |
| SI | Girls | 0 | #177 | 1 | 2,769 |
| CZ | 0 | #186 | 1 | 3,154 | |
| SI | Boys | 0 | #211 | 1 | 3,402 |
| AO | Girls | 0 | #217 | 1 | 4,575 |
| LU | Boys | 0 | #218 | 3 | 4,970 |
| HU | Girls | 0 | #225 | 1 | 3,308 |
| IR | 0 | #229 | 3 | 4,221 | |
| BD | 0 | #239 | 3 | 5,992 | |
| EC | Boys | 0 | #246 | 1 | 3,322 |
| GH | 0 | #247 | 2 | 5,396 | |
| NA | Boys | 0 | #253 | 1 | 6,830 |
| TW | Boys | 0 | #256 | 1 | 7,111 |
| MO | Girls | 0 | #263 | 1 | 7,056 |
| GR | Boys | 0 | #272 | 2 | 6,912 |
| AF | Boys | 0 | #273 | 2 | 3,535 |
| JM | Boys | 0 | #292 | 2 | 6,876 |
| KZ | Boys | 0 | #296 | 1 | 6,578 |
| AL | Boys | 0 | #298 | 6 | 5,122 |
| JP | Boys | 0 | #303 | 1 | 7,909 |
| SA | 0 | #310 | 3 | 10,560 | |
| CN | Boys | 0 | #329 | 3 | 9,639 |
| PE | 0 | #329 | 1 | 6,350 | |
| DK | Boys | 0 | #331 | 2 | 7,401 |
| MU | Boys | 0 | #333 | 25 | 8,477 |
| JO | Girls | 0 | #339 | 1 | 7,570 |
| MU | Girls | 0 | #339 | 13 | 8,539 |
| PL | Boys | 0 | #340 | 1 | 6,459 |
| QA | Girls | 0 | #342 | 2 | 15,378 |
| CZ | Girls | 0 | #351 | 1 | 5,378 |
| MY | 0 | #354 | 1 | 12,352 | |
| SD | Girls | 0 | #355 | 4 | 7,678 |
| HK | 0 | #357 | 1 | 8,483 | |
| CN | Girls | 0 | #359 | 1 | 8,829 |
| BR | 0 | #360 | 1 | 5,969 | |
| GH | Boys | 0 | #360 | 2 | 8,138 |
| PL | Girls | 0 | #363 | 2 | 5,096 |
| JO | Boys | 0 | #384 | 6 | 7,057 |
| YE | 0 | #398 | 1 | 8,639 | |
| BD | Girls | 0 | #404 | 3 | 8,413 |
| PH | Boys | 0 | #407 | 2 | 11,440 |
| BO | 0 | #408 | 1 | 6,868 | |
| Austria | Girls | 0 | #409 | 12 | 1,885 |
| EG | 0 | #411 | 2 | 6,387 | |
| OM | Girls | 0 | #419 | 6 | 15,987 |
| SD | Boys | 0 | #430 | 16 | 10,523 |
| ZA | 0 | #473 | 2 | 14,421 | |
| GT | Boys | 0 | #498 | 2 | 7,625 |
| KW | Girls | 0 | #500 | 16 | 19,177 |
| PA | Boys | 0 | #505 | 1 | 9,305 |
| RU | Girls | 0 | #522 | 2 | 11,913 |
| IQ | Girls | 0 | #523 | 3 | 11,303 |
| RU | Boys | 0 | #523 | 4 | 12,621 |
| IR | Boys | 0 | #524 | 29 | 10,162 |
| LY | 0 | #524 | 12 | 12,703 | |
| IR | Girls | 0 | #543 | 3 | 8,334 |
| BH | 0 | #544 | 10 | 17,937 | |
| PS | Boys | 0 | #553 | 9 | 10,655 |
| HK | Boys | 0 | #555 | 3 | 12,905 |
| CM | Girls | 0 | #557 | 4 | 11,671 |
| CM | Boys | 0 | #572 | 4 | 12,054 |
| AE | Girls | 0 | #597 | 1 | 20,968 |
| BD | Boys | 0 | #601 | 5 | 10,045 |
| IL | Boys | 0 | #621 | 5 | 10,983 |
| BO | Boys | 0 | #622 | 1 | 9,244 |
| SG | Girls | 0 | #631 | 2 | 18,916 |
| IL | Girls | 0 | #644 | 2 | 11,648 |
| HK | Girls | 0 | #648 | 3 | 16,104 |
| IN | Girls | 0 | #649 | 6 | 13,121 |
| BO | Girls | 0 | #650 | 2 | 9,488 |
| IQ | Boys | 0 | #650 | 18 | 13,071 |
| LB | 0 | #685 | 6 | 13,263 | |
| QA | Boys | 0 | #689 | 19 | 18,093 |
| CL | Boys | 0 | #698 | 3 | 13,390 |
| SG | Boys | 0 | #735 | 5 | 17,960 |
| KW | Boys | 0 | #738 | 32 | 18,755 |
| SY | 0 | #761 | 7 | 11,684 | |
| BR | Boys | 0 | #785 | 1 | 12,213 |
| TN | 0 | #788 | 42 | 13,765 | |
| Germany | Girls | 0 | #813 | 26 | 4,949 |
| NG | Girls | 0 | #820 | 7 | 15,093 |
| EG | Boys | 0 | #835 | 52 | 15,035 |
| OM | Boys | 0 | #866 | 16 | 17,948 |
| SA | Girls | 0 | #913 | 23 | 25,931 |
| PE | Boys | 0 | #924 | 3 | 14,506 |
| MA | 0 | #926 | 203 | 20,986 | |
| EG | Girls | 0 | #929 | 31 | 14,742 |
| NG | Boys | 0 | #929 | 23 | 16,906 |
| NL | Boys | 0 | #936 | 16 | 5,873 |
| NL | Girls | 0 | #946 | 10 | 5,933 |
| CO | Boys | 0 | #974 | 8 | 15,656 |
| IN | Boys | 0 | #981 | 21 | 16,750 |
| MY | Girls | 0 | #981 | 14 | 24,821 |
| BR | Girls | 0 | #992 | 1 | 12,708 |
| DZ | 0 | #1,003 | 174 | 20,130 | |
| MX | Boys | 0 | #1,028 | 6 | 16,355 |
| AE | Boys | 0 | #1,047 | 46 | 22,615 |
| MY | Boys | 0 | #1,074 | 38 | 25,439 |
| ZA | Boys | 0 | #1,141 | 38 | 25,619 |
| CO | Girls | 0 | #1,152 | 1 | 16,140 |
| TR | 0 | #1,181 | 31 | 19,440 | |
| ZA | Girls | 0 | #1,232 | 5 | 25,928 |
| MX | Girls | 0 | #1,265 | 3 | 17,781 |
| IT | Girls | 0 | #1,429 | 18 | 9,415 |
| IT | Boys | 0 | #1,443 | 29 | 10,046 |
| SA | Boys | 0 | #1,510 | 105 | 28,008 |
Bab is popular in 66 countries — most recent births per country:
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