Alleigh
A feminine variant of the name Allie, a diminutive of Alice.
Name Census estimates that about 620 living Americans carry the first name Alleigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alleigh today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alleigh births was 2012 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alleigh. 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
620
~ 1 in 552,830 Americans
Peak year
2012
43 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,545
Tracked since 1992
Popularity
Alleigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alleigh from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 267 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alleigh 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 Alleigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alleighs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Alleigh, while Tennessee, Louisiana, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alleigh
The given name Alleigh is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with its roots dating back to the 5th century CE. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "ael" meaning "fire" or "bright" and "leah" meaning "woodland clearing" or "meadow". In this sense, the name Alleigh could be interpreted as referring to a bright or radiant clearing in the woods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alleigh can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of annals documenting the history of the Anglo-Saxons in England. This entry, dated around 675 CE, mentions an individual named Alleigh who was a landowner in the kingdom of Mercia.
During the Middle Ages, the name Alleigh appears to have been relatively uncommon, but a few notable figures bore this name. Alleigh of Exeter (1120-1189) was a renowned scholar and cleric who served as the Bishop of Exeter in the 12th century. Another prominent individual was Alleigh the Scribe (1245-1312), a skilled calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts who worked in the abbeys of southern England.
In the Renaissance period, the name Alleigh gained some popularity among the educated classes. Alleigh Fontaine (1510-1572) was a French humanist scholar and writer who contributed to the intellectual climate of the time. Alleigh Pemberton (1556-1632) was an English poet and playwright whose works were performed at the court of King James I.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Alleigh was occasionally used by families of the English gentry and nobility. One notable figure was Alleigh Montague (1675-1747), a prominent landowner and member of Parliament who played a role in the Georgian political landscape.
In more recent times, the name Alleigh has remained relatively rare, but a few individuals have carried it. Alleigh Sinclair (1900-1982) was a Scottish artist and illustrator known for her depictions of rural life and landscapes. Alleigh Wyndham (1920-2005) was an American actress who appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films during the mid-20th century.
People
Alleigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alleigh 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
Alleigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alleigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 620 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alleigh 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 552,830 US residents.
Is Alleigh a common name?
We classify Alleigh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 628 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alleigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Alleigh was 2012, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alleigh is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Alleigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alleigh 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.