Aisha — Name Meaning in Islam

Root: ع-ي-ش (ʿ-y-sh), "to live". ʿĀʾisha is the active participle in the feminine: she who lives, who is alive and thriving — not merely alive, but living well.

From the same root: ʿayš (living, livelihood), maʿīsha (way of life, means of living — the word the Qur'an uses in Ta-Ha 20:124), ʿīsha (a life, as in al-Haqqa 69:21, "a pleasant life").

Who carried it: Aisha bint Abi Bakr, wife of the Prophet ﷺ and one of the Mothers of the Believers. She is among the largest transmitters of hadith in Islam — well over two thousand narrations — and much of what is known about the Prophet's ﷺ private conduct, his prayer at night and his character at home, is known through her. Companions came to her with questions of jurisprudence after his death.

Spellings: Aisha, Ayesha, Aishah, Ayşe (Turkish), Aisyah (Indonesian), Ayesha (Urdu), Aïcha (French/Maghrebi), عائشة.

Pronunciation: ʿĀ-i-sha — three syllables, opening with ʿayn; the i is a hamza, a small catch between the vowels.

Masculine counterpart: none in common use from this root.