Alannah
A feminine name of Gaelic origin meaning "child, precious one".
Name Census estimates that about 7,162 living Americans carry the first name Alannah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alannah today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alannah births was 2015 (370 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alannah. 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
- • Alannah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
7.2K
~ 1 in 47,857 Americans
Peak year
2015
370 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,506
Tracked since 1948
Popularity
Alannah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alannah from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,003 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
Alannah 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 Alannah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alannahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Alannah, while Rhode Island, Nevada, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 140 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alannah
The name Alannah has its origins in the Gaelic language, traced back to Ireland and Scotland. It is derived from the ancient Irish name Ailinn, meaning "beautiful" or "fair." The name's earliest recorded use dates back to the 7th century AD, when it appeared in Irish texts and historical records.
The name Alannah gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly among the Irish and Scottish nobility. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Alannah of Fife, a Scottish noblewoman who lived in the 13th century. She was renowned for her beauty and her role in negotiating peace between warring clans.
Another notable figure was Alannah O'Donnell, an Irish chieftain's daughter from the 15th century. She was known for her bravery and leadership during a time of conflict, leading her clan's forces into battle against invading armies.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in English literature, with the character of Alannah in Edmund Spenser's epic poem "The Faerie Queene." This literary reference helped to spread the name's popularity beyond Ireland and Scotland.
During the 18th century, Alannah MacLean was a Scottish poet and songwriter, whose works celebrated the beauty of her homeland and the resilience of her people. Her poems and songs were widely celebrated and helped to preserve the cultural heritage of the Scottish Highlands.
In the 19th century, Alannah O'Brien was an Irish humanitarian and advocate for the poor. She established several orphanages and schools, dedicating her life to improving the lives of underprivileged children in Ireland.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Alannah throughout history, reflecting its deep roots in Irish and Scottish culture and its association with beauty, strength, and resilience.
People
Alannah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alannah 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
Alannah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alannah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alannah 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 47,857 US residents.
Is Alannah a common name?
We classify Alannah as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,267 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alannah most popular?
The single biggest year for Alannah was 2015, when 370 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alannah is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Alannah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alannah 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.