Aleyah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "to ascend" or "to rise".
Name Census estimates that about 2,656 living Americans carry the first name Aleyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aleyah today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aleyah births was 2012 (135 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aleyah. 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
- • Aleyah 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
2.7K
~ 1 in 129,049 Americans
Peak year
2012
135 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,891
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Aleyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aleyah 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 1,071 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aleyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aleyah 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 Aleyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aleyahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Aleyah, while New Mexico, Washington, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aleyah
The name Aleyah has its origins in the Arabic language. It is a feminine name that is believed to have derived from the Arabic word 'aliya', which means 'sublime' or 'exalted'. The earliest known use of this name can be traced back to the Middle Ages in the Arabic-speaking regions of the Middle East and North Africa.
While the name itself does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its root word 'aliya' is found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. In the Quran, the term 'aliya' is used to describe the exalted and sublime qualities of God.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Aleyah can be found in the historical records of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over a vast empire stretching from North Africa to Central Asia between the 8th and 13th centuries. During this time, the name was occasionally given to girls born into noble or prominent families.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Aleyah. One such person was Aleyah bint Al-Muqtadir, who lived in the 10th century and was the daughter of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadir. She was known for her intelligence and literary talents, and was a patron of the arts and learning.
Another historical figure with the name Aleyah was Aleyah Al-Baghdadiyah, a renowned scholar and poet who lived in Baghdad during the 12th century. She was highly respected for her knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and her skill in Arabic poetry.
In the 14th century, there was Aleyah Al-Andalusiyah, a Sufi mystic and poet from Andalusia, modern-day Spain. Her writings and teachings on spirituality and the divine love of God had a significant influence on the mystical traditions of Islam in the region.
Moving to the 16th century, Aleyah Al-Mughrabiyah was a skilled calligrapher and artist from Morocco. Her intricate and beautifully designed calligraphic works adorned many mosques and palaces throughout the region.
Finally, in the 19th century, Aleyah Al-Tawhidi was a prominent educator and women's rights advocate from Egypt. She was instrumental in establishing one of the first schools for girls in the country and worked tirelessly to promote women's education and empowerment.
People
Aleyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aleyah 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
Aleyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aleyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,656 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aleyah 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 129,049 US residents.
Is Aleyah a common name?
We classify Aleyah as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,686 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aleyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Aleyah was 2012, when 135 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aleyah is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Aleyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aleyah 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.