Alaja
A feminine name derived from the Arabic word "Alajah" meaning "beautiful" or "radiant".
Name Census estimates that about 194 living Americans carry the first name Alaja. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alaja today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alaja births was 2005 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alaja. 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
194
~ 1 in 1,766,775 Americans
Peak year
2005
15 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#15,272
Tracked since 1997
Census
Alaja in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 168 people with the first name Alaja, which placed it at #42,627 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
#42,627
National first-name rank
People counted
168
168 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alaja
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alaja is Black at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Alaja 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 Alaja at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.8% · 134
- Hispanic or Latino11.9% · 20
- Two or more races5.4% · 9
- White2.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Alaja: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alaja from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 107 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alaja 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 Alaja 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 Alaja
The name Alaja has its origins in the Yoruba language, spoken primarily in southwestern Nigeria and parts of Benin. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, when the Yoruba people established their kingdoms in what is now modern-day Nigeria.
Alaja is derived from the Yoruba words "ala" meaning "dream" and "ja" meaning "to wake up." The combination of these words suggests that the name Alaja may have been given to children born after a significant dream or vision experienced by their parents or elders.
While the name does not appear to be directly referenced in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is likely that it held cultural significance within the Yoruba tradition, which has a rich history of oral storytelling and the interpretation of dreams.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Alaja can be found in the historical records of the Oyo Empire, a prominent Yoruba kingdom that flourished between the 16th and 19th centuries. Alaja Abioye, a renowned warrior and military strategist, played a crucial role in the expansion of the empire during the reign of Alaafin Abiodun in the late 18th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Alaja. One such figure was Alaja Idowu Oyediran (1887-1972), a Nigerian educator and entrepreneur who founded the Idowu Baptist School in Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria, in the early 20th century. His contributions to education and community development left a lasting impact on the region.
Another prominent individual was Alaja Olusola Saraki (1933-2012), a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the leader of the Kwara State House of Assembly in the late 20th century. He played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of Nigeria during his tenure.
In the realm of arts and culture, Alaja Bamidele Anike (1947-2019) was a renowned Nigerian sculptor and artist whose works celebrated the rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba people. His sculptures and installations can be found in numerous galleries and public spaces across Nigeria and beyond.
Lastly, Alaja Adebayo Adedeji (1928-2008) was a prominent Nigerian diplomat and development expert who served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) from 1975 to 1991. His contributions to promoting sustainable development and economic integration in Africa were widely recognized and celebrated.
People
Alaja + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alaja 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
Alaja: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alaja?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alaja 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 1,766,775 US residents.
Is Alaja a common name?
We classify Alaja as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 197 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alaja most popular?
The single biggest year for Alaja was 2005, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alaja is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alaja in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 168 people with the name Alaja, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,627 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 Alaja 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 Alaja?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alaja leans strongly female. 165 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Alaja?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alaja is Black at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.9%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Alaja most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Alaja in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (134 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 Alaja in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alaja a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alaja 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 Alaja still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alaja 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 Alaja 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 common is the name Alaja?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Alaja at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.