Farida is from the Arabic farīdah (unique, peerless, precious pearl). A modern American baby name in the broader Arabic-heritage aesthetic. Queen Farida of Egypt (Safinaz Zulficar, 1921-1988) — first wife of King Farouk I of Egypt; Queen of Egypt and Sudan (1938-1948); one of the most-iconic Arab queens of the 20th century; her marriage to Farouk celebrated as one of the great royal weddings of the 1930s; her elegant style established her as a fashion icon throughout the Arab world; their three daughters (Princesses Ferial, Fawzia, and Fadia) carried on the royal lineage. Farida Khanum (born 1929) — Pakistani classical singer; one of the most-celebrated ghazal singers in South Asian history; Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo (1973) remains one of the most-iconic Pakistani classical songs; awarded the Pride of Performance by the Pakistani government (2005). Farida Jalal (born 1949) — Indian Bollywood actress; 4 Filmfare Awards across her career; iconic mother roles in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and Mohabbatein (2000). Farida Kahf — Syrian-American poet. Farida Shaheed — Pakistani sociologist; UN Special Rapporteur. The Farida name reflects the broader 2020s American taste for Arabic-heritage feminine names alongside Yasmin, Salma, and Farida.
Featured throughout Egyptian royalty and South Asian music.
Farida does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.
In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Farida reduce to 3, The Communicator. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.