Aleeah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "elevated" or "sublime".
Name Census estimates that about 1,471 living Americans carry the first name Aleeah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aleeah today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aleeah births was 2012 (181 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aleeah. 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 Aleeah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Aleeah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 233,008 Americans
Peak year
2012
181 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,433
Tracked since 1993
Census
Aleeah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,047 people with the first name Aleeah, which placed it at #12,033 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
#12,033
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,047 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aleeah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aleeah is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.0%) and Black (15.2%). 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 Aleeah 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 Aleeah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.9% · 501
- Hispanic or Latino27.0% · 283
- Black or African American15.2% · 159
- Two or more races8.3% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 5
Popularity
Aleeah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aleeah 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 1,068 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
Aleeah 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 Aleeah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aleeahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Aleeah, while Iowa, Alabama, West Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aleeah
The name Aleeah is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language. It is a variant spelling of the name Alia, which is derived from the Arabic word 'aliya', meaning 'exalted' or 'sublime'. The name gained popularity in the Middle East and parts of North Africa, particularly in regions with strong Islamic influences.
One of the earliest known references to the name Aleeah can be found in ancient Arabic literature, where it was used to describe individuals of noble character and elevated status. It is possible that the name was inspired by the concept of spiritual elevation and a connection to the divine.
The earliest recorded example of the name Aleeah dates back to the 9th century CE. During this time, a renowned Arabic poet named Aleeah ibn al-Qasim gained recognition for her poetic works and contributions to the literary arts. Her work was celebrated for its eloquence and depth, reflecting the essence of her name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Aleeah. One such figure was Aleeah al-Mahdawi (1155-1242 CE), a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from present-day Iran. She was renowned for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her contributions to the interpretation of religious texts.
Another notable Aleeah was Aleeah bint al-Husayn (1025-1091 CE), a highly respected literary figure and poet from the Abbasid era. Her works were praised for their poetic mastery and their ability to capture the essence of human emotions and experiences.
In the realm of art and culture, Aleeah al-Mawsiliyah (1190-1263 CE) was a celebrated musician and composer from present-day Iraq. She was renowned for her skills in playing the oud, a traditional Middle Eastern lute, and her compositions were widely admired for their melodic beauty and complexity.
While the name Aleeah has its roots in the Arabic language, it has gained popularity across various cultures and regions over time. Its meaning and historical significance continue to be celebrated, reflecting the rich tapestry of cultural diversity and the enduring power of names to connect us with our past.
People
Aleeah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aleeah 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
Aleeah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aleeah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,471 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aleeah 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 233,008 US residents.
Is Aleeah a common name?
We classify Aleeah as "Rare". It ranks above 92.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,485 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aleeah most popular?
The single biggest year for Aleeah was 2012, when 181 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aleeah is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aleeah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,047 people with the name Aleeah, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,033 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 Aleeah 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 Aleeah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aleeah appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,046 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Aleeah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aleeah is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.0%) and Black (15.2%). 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 Aleeah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aleeah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.9% (501 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 Aleeah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aleeah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aleeah 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 Aleeah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aleeah 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 Aleeah 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 many people have the name Aleeah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.