Alaylah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "the sublime" or "the elevated one".
Name Census estimates that about 361 living Americans carry the first name Alaylah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alaylah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alaylah births was 2016 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alaylah. 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 Alaylah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
361
~ 1 in 949,458 Americans
Peak year
2016
35 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,958
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Alaylah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alaylah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 217 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Alaylah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alaylah 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 Alaylah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alaylahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Alaylah
The name Alaylah is of Arabic origin, derived from the word "layl," which means "night." It is thought to have emerged as a name during the early Islamic era, around the 7th century CE, in the Arabian Peninsula.
Alaylah is a feminine name that carries connotations of beauty, mystery, and serenity, reflecting the tranquil and serene nature of the night. It is believed to have been initially used as a descriptive term or a poetic expression before becoming a popular name among Arabic-speaking communities.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Alaylah can be found in classical Arabic literature, particularly in the works of renowned poets who celebrated the beauty and allure of the night. However, there are no specific mentions of individuals bearing this name in ancient texts or religious scriptures.
The first documented use of Alaylah as a personal name dates back to the 10th century CE. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Alaylah bint Ahmad al-Hadrami, a renowned scholar and poet from Yemen who lived during the late 10th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Alaylah, including:
1. Alaylah al-Mawsiliyah (born c. 1030 CE), a celebrated poetess and calligrapher from Mosul, Iraq, known for her contributions to Arabic literature.
2. Alaylah bint al-Qasim al-Andalusi (born c. 1120 CE), a prominent scholar and writer from the Andalusian region of modern-day Spain, who wrote extensively on Islamic jurisprudence.
3. Alaylah al-Maridini (born c. 1180 CE), a renowned physician and philosopher from Damascus, Syria, who made significant contributions to the field of medicine during the Ayyubid period.
4. Alaylah al-Baghdadi (born c. 1250 CE), a skilled calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts from Baghdad, Iraq, whose works are highly regarded for their artistic beauty and precision.
5. Alaylah al-Qahiri (born c. 1320 CE), a celebrated Sufi mystic and poet from Cairo, Egypt, known for her spiritual compositions and teachings on the path of divine love.
While the name Alaylah has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has gained popularity and recognition across various regions and communities over the centuries, becoming a symbol of grace, beauty, and the mystique of the night.
People
Alaylah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alaylah 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
Alaylah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alaylah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 361 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alaylah 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 949,458 US residents.
Is Alaylah a common name?
We classify Alaylah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 364 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alaylah most popular?
The single biggest year for Alaylah was 2016, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alaylah is about 11 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 Alaylah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alaylah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alaylah 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 Alaylah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alaylah 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 Alaylah 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 Alaylah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.