# Baba (name)

Baba can be a surname in several cultures such as Dravidian, Japanese, Turkics, and Yoruba. It is also a nickname for 'father' in some languages, and translates to "father" in the Arabic, Persian and Shona languages. In various Slavic languages “baba” means an “old lady” (as in the diminutive variation babushka).

## First name

* Baba Abdulai Musah (born 1996), Ghanaian professional footballer
* Baba Adamu Iyam (born 1948), Nigerian soldier who served as Military Administrator of Kwara State
* Baba Adeeko (born 2003), Irish professional footballer
* Baba Balababa oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: Baba Balababa oğlu Əliyev) (1915—1991), Azerbaijani painter, People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR, Chairman of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan
* Baba Aparajith (born 1994), Indian cricketer
* Baba Ayagiba, Ghanaian politician
* Baba Balia (born 1954), Indian spiritual guru and preacher
* Baba Buddha (Gurmukhi: ਬਾਬਾ ਬੁੱਢਾ; bābā buḍhā; lit. meaning "wise old man") (1506–1631), Indian prime figure in early Sikhism
* Baba Bhaskar, Indian dance choreographer, director and actor
* Baba Brinkman, Canadian environmental rapper
* Baba Fasiuddin (born 1984), Indian politician
* Baba Fighani Shirazi (also spelled Faghani; died 1519), Persian poet active in the late 15th and early 16th centuries
* Baba Hari Dass (Devanagari: बाबा हरि दास) (1923–2018), Indian yoga master, silent monk, temple builder, and commentator of Indian scriptural traditions of dharma and moksha
* Baba Haruna (born 2002), Ghanaian professional footballer
* Baba Iddi (born 1982), Ghanaian football striker
* Baba Ishak (died 1241), Seljuk Turkish preacher who led a revolt against the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm
* Baba Jan (politician) (born 1974), Pakistani political activist
* Baba Keenaram, Indian Aghori ascetic
* Babagana Kingibe (born 1945), Nigerian diplomat, politician and civil servant
* Babajide Collins Babatunde (born 1988), Nigerian former professional footballer
* Baba Malick N'Diaye (born 1983), former Qatari footballer who played as a goalkeeper
* Baba Nobuharu (1514–1575), samurai of Japan's Sengoku period under Takeda Shingen
* Baba Rahman (born 1994), Ghanaian footballer
* Baba Tahir (Persian: باباطاهر عریان همدانی), an 11th-century dervish poet from Hamadan, Iran
* Baba Tatsui (馬場 辰猪, 1850–1888), Japanese legislative reformer during the Meiji period

## Nickname

* Afdal al-Din Kashani (Persian: افضل‌الدین مَرَقی کاشانی) also known as “Baba Afzal” (Persian: بابا افضل‌), Persian poet and philosopher
* Akiko Iwata (岩田 暁子, born 1928), also known by nickname “Akiko Baba” (馬場 あき子), Japanese tanka poet and literary critic
* Ali Ardekani (Persian: علی اردکانی; born 1974), best known by his stage name “Baba Ali” (Persian: بابا علی), Iranian-born American comedian, games developer, businessman, and actor
* Aruj Barbarossa (1474–1518), known as Oruç Reis/Baba Aruj (Arabic: عروج بربروس) to the Turks, was an Ottoman corsair who became Sultan of Algiers.
* Ana di Pištonja, better known as “Baba Anujka” (Serbian Cyrillic: Баба Анујка; 1838–1938), Serbo-Romanian convicted serial killer amateur chemist from the village of Vladimirovac
* Baba Adamu (born 1979), known occasionally simply by his nickname “Armando”, Ghanaian former professional football striker
* Farīd al-Dīn Mas'ūd Ganj-i Shakar (1173–1266), commonly known as “Bābā Farīd” or Shaykh Farīd (also in Anglicised spelling Fareed), a 13th-century Pakistani of Punjabi Muslim preacher, poet and mystic
* Baba Sehgal, known as “Harjeet Singh Sehgal”, (born 1965), Indian rapper
* Edmond Brahimaj (born 1959), commonly known as Baba Mondi, Albanian religious leader and the eighth Bektashi Muslims
* Minamoto no Yorimasa (源 頼政, 1106–1180), known as “Baba no Yorimasa”, Japanese poet, aristocrat and samurai lord
* Mashrab, also known as “Bābārahim Mashrab” (Боборахим Машраб, Boborahim Mashrab) (1653–1711), a classic figure in Uzbek literature
* Baruch Abuhatzeira (Hebrew: ברוך אבוחצירא; born 1941), known as “Baba Baruch”, Moroccan-Israeli Kabbalist rabbi and spiritual
* Barbara Jessica Hardy Beaton (1912–1973), known as “Baba Beaton”, English socialite
* DJ Ozma (born 1979), known as Nao Baba (馬場 直), Japanese pop singer
* Midori Matsushima (松島 みどり, born 1956), Japanese politician. Her official name is “Midori Baba” (馬場 みどり)
* Mustafa Özkan (born 1986), better known by his stage name “Manuş Baba”, a Turkish pop and arabesque singer
* Nanak Dev (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: gʊɾuː naːnək), also known as “Baba Nanak”, Indian founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus
* Ghulam Ahmed Chishti (1905–1994), Pakistani music composer. He is also sometimes referred to as “Baba Chishti”
* Tariku Birhanu (Amharic: ታሪኩ ብርሃኑ; (1983–2022), stage name Baba, Ethiopian actor
* Hardev Singh (1954–2016), also known as “Nirankari Baba”, Indian spiritual guru and chief leader of the Sant Nirankari Mission
* Israel Abuhatzeira (Hebrew: ר׳ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַבּוּחַצִירָא), known as the “Baba Sali” (Arabic: بابا صلى, Hebrew: בַּאבָּא סָאלִי, lit. "Praying Father") (1889–1984), leading Moroccan Sephardic Jews rabbi
* Mokō (もこう, born 1990), known professionally as “Yutaka Baba” (馬場 豊), Japanese internet celebrity
* Raila Odinga (born 1945), Kenyan politician and 2nd Prime Minister of Kenya (2008–2013)
* Riria Baba (馬場 梨里杏, born 1993), known professionally as “Riria” (梨里杏) and “Riria Kojima” (小島 梨里杏), Japanese actress
* Sanjay Dutt (born 1959), Indian film actor and producer
* Starina Novak (c. 1530–1601), Serbian hajduk, also known as “Baba Novac” ("Old Novak") in Romanian
* Shaykh Hamid-i Vali (Turkish: Şeyh Hamid-i Veli; 1331–1412), better known by his sobriquet (Somunju Baba), an ascetic teacher of Islam in Bursa, Turkey
* Veersen Aanandrao known as “Baba Kadam”, an Indian novelist famous for his detective novels
* Wakashoyo Shunichi (若翔洋 俊一, born 1966), known as “Yoichi Babaguchi”, Japanese mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and former sumo wrestler
* Baba Vanga (Bulgarian: Баба Ванга, lit. 'Grandmother Vanga'), Bulgarian attributed mystic and healer who claimed to have foreseen the future

## Surname

* Atsuko Baba (馬場敦子, born 1995), Japanese female handball player for Hokkoku Bank and the Japanese national team
* Corneliu Baba (1906–1997), Romanian painter
* Eiichi Baba (馬場 鍈一, 1879–1937), Japanese bureaucrat and cabinet minister in early Shōwa period
* Frank Shozo Baba (1915–2008), Japanese American who worked for Voice of America and Japan
* Fumika Baba (馬場 ふみか, born 1995), Japanese actress and model
* Ghafar Baba (1925–2006), Malaysian politician
* James Baba (born 1945), Ugandan politician
* Jaroslav Bába (born 1984), Czech high jumper
* Kenji Baba (born 1985), Japanese footballer
* Kikutaro Baba (1905–2001), Japanese malacologist
* Kosuke Baba (馬場 皐輔, born 1995), Japanese professional baseball pitcher
* Masao Baba (1892–1947), Japanese general
* Naoto Baba (馬場 直人, born 1996), Japanese cross-country skier who competes internationally
* Naruatsu Baba (馬場 功淳, botn 1978), Japanese smartphone game developer and businessman
* Nobuyuki Baba (馬場 伸幸, born 1965), Japanese politician
* Noriko Baba (馬場 典子, born 1977), former Japanese women national football player
* Ryouma Baba (馬場 良馬, born 1984), Japanese actor
* Ryosuke Baba (馬場 亮輔, born 1984), Japanese artistic gymnast
* Saki Baba (馬場咲希, born 2005), Japanese women professional golfer
* Sayaka Baba (馬場彩華, born 2004), Japanese actress and former member idol group HKT48
* Seishi Baba (born 1964), Japanese politician
* Seiya Baba (馬場 晴也, born 2001), Japanese professional footballer
* Shigeru Baba (born 1948), Japanese professional go player
* Shohei Baba (1938–1999), Japanese wrestler
* Sumie Baba (born 1967), Japanese voice actress
* Tadao Baba (born 1944), Japanese motorcycle engineer
* Takumi Baba, Japanese professional wrestler
* Toru Baba (born 1988), Japanese entertainer
* Toshifumi Baba (馬場 敏史, born 1965), former Japanese baseball player
* Tupeni Baba (fl. 1980s–present), Fijian politician
* Yudai Baba (born 1995), Japanese basketball player
* Yuki Baba (born 1992), Japanese politician
* Yuta Baba (born 1984), Japanese expatriate footballer in South Korea

## Honorific

The following have adopted the honorific Baba:
* Aḥmad Bābā al-Timbuktī (Arabic: أحمد بابا التمبكتي), full name Abū al-Abbās Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Aḥmad ibn Umar ibn Muhammad Aqit al-Takrūrī Al-Massufi al-Timbuktī (1556–1627), Malinese Sanhaja Berber writer, scholar, and political provocateur
* Rachid Baba Ahmed (Arabic: رشيد بابا أحمد) (1946–1945), Algerian record producer, composer, and singer
* Baba Ram Das (1931–2019), born Richard Alpert, American spiritual teacher and psychologist
* Baba Ramdevji (1352–1385), a Hindu ruler venerated as a folk deity in Gujarat and Rajasthan
* Baba Bulleh Shah (1680–1757), a Punjabi philosopher and Sufi poet
* Demir Baba, a 16th-century Alevi saint
* Haji Baba Sheikh (Kurdish: Hacî Baba Şêx – Bukan), Kurdish prime minister of the Republic of Mahabad
* Gül Baba (died 1541), an Ottoman Bektashi dervish poet
* Gurdwara Baba Atal (Punjabi pronunciation:) (died 1628), Indian famous Gurdwara in Amritsar dedicated to Atal Rai, son of Guru Hargobind and Mata Nanaki
* Meher Baba (1894–1969), born Merwan Sheriar Irani, Indian guru
* Otman Baba (c. 1378–1478), a dervish traveling throughout the Ottoman Empire
* Rehman Baba (1632–1706), an Afghan Sufi Dervish and poet
* Telli Baba, Turkish Muslim saint
* Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838–1918), Indian guru
* Sathya Sai Baba (1926–2011), born Sathya Narayana Raju, Indian guru purporting to be a reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi
* Sersem Ali Baba, a 16th-century Ottoman dervish
* Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed (born 1969), Nigerian economist and politician