An Arabic name meaning 'tall' or 'dark'; borne by Sawda bint Zam'a, an early wife of the Prophet Muhammad.
Sawda (سَوْدَاء) is among the oldest continuously used women's names in the Arabic-speaking world, with a recorded history stretching back to the earliest days of Islam. The name derives from the Arabic root meaning "black" or "dark," used in classical Arabic to describe a woman of dark and striking beauty — a quality celebrated in pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry where dark eyes, dark hair, and dark complexion were considered marks of profound loveliness. The name is unambiguously an aesthetic tribute, rooted in a culture where darkness and richness of color were deeply admired.
The name's most significant historical bearer is Sawda bint Zamʿa, who became the second wife of the Prophet Muhammad following the death of Khadija, and the first woman he married after that bereavement. She was known for her warmth, generosity, and wit, and is remembered in Islamic tradition as a woman of substantial moral character who voluntarily gave her "turn" to Aisha out of devotion. Her presence in the earliest Muslim community gives the name Sawda a profound spiritual gravity for Muslim families and ensures its continued use across fourteen centuries of Islamic history.
While the name is less common today than it once was — superseded in many regions by more internationally familiar Arabic names — it retains devoted use in religiously observant communities in Sudan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and West Africa. For families who wish to honor early Islamic history and the women who shaped it, Sawda is a name of quiet, historic dignity that connects a child directly to the founding generation of their faith.