Akylah
Of Arabic origin, meaning "intelligent, wisdom".
Name Census estimates that about 199 living Americans carry the first name Akylah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Akylah today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akylah births was 2006 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akylah. 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
199
~ 1 in 1,722,384 Americans
Peak year
2006
17 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,211
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Akylah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Akylah 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 99 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Akylah 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 Akylah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Akylah
The name Akylah has its origins in the Arabic language and is believed to have been derived from the word "aqila," which means "intelligent" or "wise." It first emerged in the Middle East and North Africa regions during the medieval period, when Arabic culture and language were flourishing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Akylah can be traced back to the 9th century CE, when it was mentioned in an Arabic manuscript from the Abbasid Caliphate. This historical document referred to a woman named Akylah bint al-Hasan, who was a renowned scholar and poet during that time.
Throughout the centuries, the name Akylah has been associated with various notable figures. One such figure was Akylah al-Andalusi, a 12th-century philosopher and mathematician from Muslim Spain, who made significant contributions to the fields of science and mathematics.
In the 13th century, there was a famous Sufi mystic named Akylah al-Mawsiliyya, who was known for her profound spiritual teachings and her dedication to the path of divine love.
Another notable bearer of the name was Akylah al-Baghdadi, a 15th-century calligrapher and artist from Baghdad, whose exquisite works of art and calligraphy adorned many mosques and palaces of her time.
In more recent history, there was Akylah Mariam Amin, a 19th-century Egyptian writer and activist who advocated for women's rights and education. She was a pioneer in her field and played a crucial role in shaping the feminist movement in Egypt.
Despite its ancient roots, the name Akylah has remained popular across various cultures and regions, particularly in the Arab world and among Muslim communities. Its meaning of "intelligent" and "wise" has resonated with many parents who wish to bestow these qualities upon their daughters.
People
Akylah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akylah 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
Akylah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akylah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 199 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akylah 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 1,722,384 US residents.
Is Akylah a common name?
We classify Akylah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 201 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akylah most popular?
The single biggest year for Akylah was 2006, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akylah is about 15 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 Akylah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Akylah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Akylah 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 Akylah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Akylah 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 Akylah 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 named Akylah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.