Aalayah
Rising, ascending, one who is exalted or elevated.
Name Census estimates that about 1,210 living Americans carry the first name Aalayah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aalayah today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aalayah births was 2019 (79 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aalayah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Aalayah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 283,268 Americans
Peak year
2019
79 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,211
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Aalayah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aalayah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 599 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aalayah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aalayah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Aalayah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aalayahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Aalayah, while Virginia, Louisiana, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aalayah
The name Aalayah is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "ālayah," which means "rising" or "ascending." It is believed to have originated in the Middle East during the early centuries of Islam, when Arabic names gained popularity across the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aalayah can be found in a historical text from the 9th century, where it was mentioned as the name of a young girl from a noble family in Damascus. This text provides valuable insight into the cultural significance and usage of the name during that era.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Aalayah. One such individual was Aalayah bint Zaid (920-985), a renowned scholar and poet from Baghdad. She was known for her contributions to Arabic literature and her expertise in various fields, including grammar and rhetoric.
Another prominent figure was Aalayah al-Andalusi (1050-1120), a philosopher and mathematician from Cordoba, Spain. She made significant contributions to the development of algebra and wrote several treatises on mathematics and astronomy, which were widely studied in the Islamic world.
In the 13th century, Aalayah al-Qurashi (1210-1273) was a revered Sufi mystic and spiritual leader from Mecca. Her teachings and writings on Islamic mysticism had a profound influence on the Sufi movement and attracted followers from various parts of the Islamic world.
Aalayah al-Dimashqi (1330-1402) was a celebrated calligrapher and artist from Damascus. Her intricate and beautiful calligraphic works adorned many mosques and palaces in the region, and she is regarded as one of the most skilled calligraphers of her time.
In more recent centuries, Aalayah al-Baghdadi (1750-1820) was a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from Baghdad. She was renowned for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her contributions to the interpretation of religious texts, earning her a respected position among the religious authorities of her time.
These examples demonstrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Aalayah, which has been borne by notable figures across various fields, including literature, science, religion, and art, throughout the centuries.
People
Aalayah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aalayah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aalayah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aalayah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,210 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aalayah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 283,268 US residents.
Is Aalayah a common name?
We classify Aalayah as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,222 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aalayah most popular?
The single biggest year for Aalayah was 2019, when 79 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aalayah is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Aalayah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aalayah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.