Ailah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "lofty" or "sublime".
Name Census estimates that about 362 living Americans carry the first name Ailah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ailah today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ailah births was 2021 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ailah. 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 Ailah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
362
~ 1 in 946,835 Americans
Peak year
2021
42 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,030
Tracked since 2005
Popularity
Ailah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ailah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 182 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
Ailah 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 Ailah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ailahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Ailah, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ailah
The name Ailah has its roots in the Arabic language, originating in the Middle East and North Africa. It is derived from the Arabic word "aliyah," which means "exalted" or "elevated." The name is believed to have emerged during the early Islamic period, around the 7th century CE.
Ailah is often associated with the concept of spiritual ascension or elevation, reflecting the Islamic belief in striving towards a higher state of being. In some Islamic traditions, the name is also linked to the idea of migration or journey, particularly in the context of the hijrah (migration of Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina).
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ailah can be found in the works of medieval Arabic scholars and poets. The 9th-century poet Abbasid al-Mutanabbi wrote a poem praising a woman named Ailah, describing her as a beacon of beauty and virtue.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ailah. One of the earliest was Ailah bint Abi Bakr (born around 605 CE), the daughter of Abu Bakr, the first caliph of Islam and a close companion of Prophet Muhammad. She is revered in Islamic history for her piety and devotion to the faith.
Another prominent figure was Ailah al-Andalusiyah (born around 1050 CE), a renowned poet and scholar from the Andalusian region of Spain during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. Her works explored themes of love, spirituality, and the beauty of nature.
In the 13th century, Ailah al-Baghdadiyah (born around 1220 CE) was a celebrated calligrapher and artist from Baghdad, known for her intricate and beautiful calligraphic works adorning mosques and manuscripts.
During the Ottoman Empire, Ailah Khanum (born around 1520 CE) was a influential figure in the imperial harem, serving as the chief consort to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She was renowned for her intelligence, political acumen, and patronage of the arts.
In more recent times, Ailah Baksh (1880-1958) was a prominent Indian Muslim educator and social reformer, dedicated to promoting women's education and empowerment in the subcontinent.
These are just a few examples of the individuals who have carried the name Ailah throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of their respective cultures and eras.
People
Ailah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ailah 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
Ailah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ailah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 362 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ailah 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 946,835 US residents.
Is Ailah a common name?
We classify Ailah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 365 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ailah most popular?
The single biggest year for Ailah was 2021, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ailah is about 8 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 Ailah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ailah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ailah 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 Ailah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ailah 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 Ailah 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 have Ailah as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Ailah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.