Adaliah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "God's pathway".
Name Census estimates that about 278 living Americans carry the first name Adaliah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Adaliah today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adaliah births was 2019 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adaliah. 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.
People living today
278
~ 1 in 1,232,929 Americans
Peak year
2019
49 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,372
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Adaliah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Adaliah 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 177 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Adaliah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Adaliah 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 Adaliah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Adaliahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Adaliah
The name Adaliah has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew words "adal," meaning "noble," and "Yah," a shortened form of the name of the Jewish God, Yahweh. The name thus translates to "noble for Yahweh" or "noble one of God."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Adaliah can be found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of 2 Kings. It is mentioned as the name of the mother of King Josiah, who reigned over the Kingdom of Judah from around 649 to 609 BCE. The passage in 2 Kings 22:1 states, "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Adaliah. One of the earliest was Adaliah ben Shemaiah, a Jewish scholar and scribe who lived in the 4th century CE. He is credited with preserving and transmitting many ancient Hebrew texts and traditions.
In the 12th century, Adaliah ben Jacob Anav was a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher from Provence, France. He wrote extensively on Jewish law and ethics and was highly respected for his intellect and wisdom.
During the Renaissance, Adaliah ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen was a prominent rabbi and scholar who lived in the 16th century. He authored several influential works on Jewish law and theology and was widely regarded as a leading authority of his time.
In more recent history, Adaliah Benton (1804-1881) was an American educator and abolitionist. She was a passionate advocate for the abolition of slavery and played a significant role in the Underground Railroad, helping many enslaved individuals escape to freedom.
Adaliah Pendleton (1905-1982) was an influential African-American educator and civil rights activist. She worked tirelessly to promote equal education opportunities for Black students and was a key figure in the desegregation of schools in the United States.
While the name Adaliah has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture, it has been adopted and used by various cultures and communities throughout history, each adding their own unique perspectives and interpretations to its meaning and significance.
People
Adaliah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adaliah 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
Adaliah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adaliah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 278 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adaliah 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 1,232,929 US residents.
Is Adaliah a common name?
We classify Adaliah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 280 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adaliah most popular?
The single biggest year for Adaliah was 2019, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adaliah is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Adaliah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adaliah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Adaliah 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 Adaliah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adaliah 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 Adaliah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Adaliah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.