Aleigha
A feminine diminutive form of Alexa or Alexandra, meaning "defender of mankind".
Name Census estimates that about 4,744 living Americans carry the first name Aleigha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aleigha today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aleigha births was 2012 (316 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aleigha. 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 Aleigha with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Aleigha 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
4.7K
~ 1 in 72,250 Americans
Peak year
2012
316 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,596
Tracked since 1981
Census
Aleigha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,582 people with the first name Aleigha, which placed it at #4,960 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
#4,960
National first-name rank
People counted
3.6K
3,582 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aleigha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aleigha is White at 64.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.1%) and Black (11.3%). 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 Aleigha 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 Aleigha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.9% · 2,324
- Two or more races12.1% · 433
- Black or African American11.3% · 405
- Hispanic or Latino9.6% · 345
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 18
Popularity
Aleigha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aleigha from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,204 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
Aleigha 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 Aleigha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aleighas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Aleigha, while Maryland, Massachusetts, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 94 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aleigha
The name Aleigha is believed to have its origins in the ancient Celtic culture, tracing back to the region now known as Ireland and Scotland. It is derived from the old Gaelic words "ail" meaning "rock" or "stone" and "ighean" meaning "maiden" or "young woman". The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Aileagh", which later evolved into various forms like "Aleagh", "Aleagha", and eventually "Aleigha".
In ancient Celtic folklore, the name Aleigha was associated with strength, resilience, and a connection to the earth. It was often given to daughters born in remote mountainous regions, symbolizing their ability to withstand the rugged terrain and harsh environment.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Aleigha can be found in the ancient Irish annals known as the Annals of the Four Masters, which date back to the 7th century AD. These annals mention an Irish noblewoman named Aleigha of the Uí Briúin dynasty, who played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Aleigha. One such person was Aleigha MacLean (1570-1648), a Scottish chieftain from the Isle of Mull, who was known for her bravery and leadership during the clan wars of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Another prominent figure was Aleigha O'Donnell (1685-1755), an Irish poet and harpist from County Donegal, whose works celebrated the rich cultural heritage of her homeland. Her compositions were widely acclaimed and helped preserve the traditional Gaelic music and language.
In the realm of literature, Aleigha Macdonald (1810-1891) was a Scottish writer and folklorist who documented the traditional tales and legends of the Hebrides islands. Her collection of stories, known as the "Folklore of the Western Isles", remains an invaluable resource for historians and scholars studying Celtic culture.
More recently, Aleigha Fitzpatrick (1920-2005) was an American artist and sculptor, renowned for her sculptures depicting the beauty and strength of the female form. Her works have been exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums across the United States.
Lastly, Aleigha Browning (1946-present) is a British actress and writer, best known for her roles in several popular television series, including "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Coronation Street". She has also authored several acclaimed books, both fiction and non-fiction, exploring themes of family, relationships, and self-discovery.
People
Aleigha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aleigha 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
Aleigha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aleigha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,744 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aleigha 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 72,250 US residents.
Is Aleigha a common name?
We classify Aleigha as "Rare". It ranks above 96.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,810 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aleigha most popular?
The single biggest year for Aleigha was 2012, when 316 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aleigha is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aleigha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,582 people with the name Aleigha, or 1.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,960 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 Aleigha 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 Aleigha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aleigha appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,584 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 Aleigha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aleigha is White at 64.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.1%) and Black (11.3%). 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 Aleigha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aleigha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.9% (2,324 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 Aleigha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aleigha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aleigha 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 Aleigha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aleigha 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 Aleigha 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 share the name Aleigha?
You can see how many Americans are named Aleigha on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.