Alenah
A feminine name of Aboriginal Australian origin meaning "fair maiden".
Name Census estimates that about 208 living Americans carry the first name Alenah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alenah today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alenah births was 2017 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alenah. 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
208
~ 1 in 1,647,857 Americans
Peak year
2017
17 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,343
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Alenah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alenah 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 111 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Alenah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alenah 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 Alenah 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 Alenah
The name Alenah is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language. It is derived from the Arabic word "ala'na," which means "to shine" or "to be radiant." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who were perceived as having a bright or luminous presence.
In its earliest known usage, the name Alenah was popular among families in the Middle East, particularly in regions like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Syria. Over time, it spread to other parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some historians believe that variations of the name, such as Alina or Alena, may have been used in ancient times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alenah can be found in the writings of the 9th-century Arab scholar and philosopher, Al-Kindi. He mentioned a woman named Alenah in one of his works, though little is known about her life or background.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Alenah. One such person was Alenah al-Nisaburi (1022-1090), a renowned Persian poet and scholar from the city of Nishapur. Her works were widely celebrated during her lifetime and continue to be studied by scholars of Persian literature.
Another prominent figure was Alenah bint Al-Haytham (1036-1124), an Arab mathematician and astronomer from Basra, Iraq. She made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and is credited with developing improved methods for calculating the positions of celestial bodies.
In the 12th century, there was Alenah al-Qurashi (1130-1199), a pioneering female physician from Cordoba, Spain. She was one of the few women in the Islamic world at that time to practice medicine and author medical texts.
During the Ottoman Empire, Alenah Khanum (1548-1623) was a prominent figure in the imperial court. She was a skilled poet and calligrapher, and her works were highly regarded by the Ottoman elite.
More recently, in the 19th century, Alenah Fatima (1832-1901) was a renowned Egyptian feminist and activist who fought for women's rights and education in Egypt.
While the name Alenah may not be as common today as it was in the past, it continues to hold significance as a reflection of its rich cultural and historical roots.
People
Alenah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alenah 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
Alenah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alenah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 208 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alenah 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 1,647,857 US residents.
Is Alenah a common name?
We classify Alenah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 210 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alenah most popular?
The single biggest year for Alenah was 2017, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alenah is about 13 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 Alenah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alenah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alenah 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 Alenah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alenah 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 Alenah 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 called Alenah?
You can see how many Americans are named Alenah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.