Alaiya
A feminine Arabic name meaning "the high" or "the sublime".
Name Census estimates that about 2,790 living Americans carry the first name Alaiya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alaiya today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alaiya births was 2021 (396 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alaiya. 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
- • Alaiya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.8K
~ 1 in 122,851 Americans
Peak year
2021
396 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#934
Tracked since 1995
Popularity
Alaiya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alaiya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 1,562 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
Alaiya 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 Alaiya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alaiyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Alaiya, while Rhode Island, Kansas, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 60 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alaiya
The name Alaiya is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the medieval era. It is a feminine given name derived from the Arabic word "ala'a," which means "sublime" or "exalted." The name was likely popularized in the Middle East and North Africa during the golden age of Islamic civilization, which spanned from the 7th to the 13th centuries.
While the exact origins of the name are uncertain, some historical references suggest that it may have been mentioned in ancient Arabic poetry and literature. However, there is no definitive evidence of its appearance in religious scriptures or historical records from that time period.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Alaiya can be found in the writings of the 10th-century Arab poet and scholar, Al-Mutanabbi. He is believed to have referenced a woman named Alaiya in one of his famous poems, describing her beauty and grace.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Alaiya. One such figure was Alaiya bint Ahmad al-Hadrami (1210-1266), a renowned Sufi mystic and scholar from Hadramawt, Yemen. She was known for her profound spiritual teachings and her contributions to the study of Islamic mysticism.
Another notable Alaiya was Alaiya bint al-Mahdi (776-828), a daughter of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mahdi. She was a respected scholar and patron of the arts, known for her support of poets and intellectuals during the Abbasid era.
In the 14th century, Alaiya al-Qazdughli (1320-1390) was a prominent female architect and engineer from the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. She was responsible for the design and construction of several notable architectural works, including mosques and public buildings.
Alaiya bint Faris al-Qurashi (1270-1348) was a renowned scholar and poet from the city of Mecca. She was celebrated for her contributions to Arabic literature and her expertise in the fields of Islamic jurisprudence and hadith studies.
While the name Alaiya has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has since gained popularity in various parts of the world, transcending cultural and linguistic boundaries.
People
Alaiya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alaiya 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
Alaiya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alaiya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,790 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alaiya 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 122,851 US residents.
Is Alaiya a common name?
We classify Alaiya as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,810 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alaiya most popular?
The single biggest year for Alaiya was 2021, when 396 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alaiya is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Alaiya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alaiya 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.