Aayla
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "halo" or "wreath of light".
Name Census estimates that about 811 living Americans carry the first name Aayla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aayla today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aayla births was 2022 (75 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aayla. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Aayla with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
811
~ 1 in 422,632 Americans
Peak year
2022
75 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,877
Tracked since 2005
Census
Aayla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 471 people with the first name Aayla, which placed it at #21,522 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#21,522
National first-name rank
People counted
471
471 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aayla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aayla is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.0%) and Two or More Races (12.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Aayla described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Aayla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.0% · 259
- Hispanic or Latino18.0% · 85
- Two or more races12.5% · 59
- Black or African American9.3% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 7
Popularity
Aayla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aayla from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 367 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aayla 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 Aayla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aaylas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Aayla, while Virginia, New York, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aayla
The name Aayla has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language of India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "ayla," which means "small planet" or "celestial body." The name is believed to have emerged in the Indian subcontinent around the 5th century BCE, during the Vedic period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aayla can be found in the Rigveda, one of the oldest and most revered Hindu scriptures. The Rigveda contains numerous hymns and prayers dedicated to various celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, and stars. It is possible that the name Aayla was associated with a particular celestial deity or used as a metaphor for celestial beauty and grace.
In the centuries that followed, the name Aayla gained popularity across various regions of India and was embraced by different religious and cultural communities. It was often associated with qualities such as grace, beauty, and celestial radiance.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Aayla. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Aayla Devi, a renowned Indian poet and scholar who lived in the 8th century CE. Her works, which focused on themes of love, devotion, and spirituality, were widely celebrated and have influenced generations of poets and writers.
Another prominent figure was Aayla Bai, a powerful queen who ruled the princely state of Indore in central India during the 18th century. She was known for her strong leadership, strategic military prowess, and patronage of the arts and culture.
In more recent times, Aayla Kiran (1932-2018) was a celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She was instrumental in popularizing and preserving the rich traditions of Bharatanatyam, one of the oldest classical dance forms of India.
Aayla Giri (born 1952) is a renowned environmentalist and social activist from India. She has dedicated her life to the conservation of forests, the protection of indigenous communities, and the promotion of sustainable living practices.
Aayla Sharma (born 1985) is a successful Indian entrepreneur and business leader. She co-founded one of India's leading e-commerce platforms and has been recognized for her contributions to the country's rapidly growing startup ecosystem.
While the name Aayla has its roots in ancient Sanskrit, it has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries, embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds and regions around the world. Its celestial origins and associations with grace, beauty, and radiance have contributed to its enduring appeal and unique charm.
People
Aayla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aayla 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
Aayla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aayla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 811 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aayla 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 422,632 US residents.
Is Aayla a common name?
We classify Aayla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 817 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aayla most popular?
The single biggest year for Aayla was 2022, when 75 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aayla is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aayla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 471 people with the name Aayla, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,522 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Aayla in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Aayla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aayla appears almost entirely female. Of the 474 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Aayla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aayla is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.0%) and Two or More Races (12.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Aayla most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aayla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.0% (259 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Aayla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aayla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aayla 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.
Is Aayla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aayla in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Aayla can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Aayla?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.