Alylah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "the highest" or "sublime."
Name Census estimates that about 189 living Americans carry the first name Alylah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alylah today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alylah births was 2024 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alylah. 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 Alylah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
189
~ 1 in 1,813,515 Americans
Peak year
2024
19 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,158
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Alylah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alylah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 104 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Alylah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alylah 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 Alylah 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 Alylah
The name Alylah originates from Arabic and Hebrew roots. In Arabic, the word "ala" means "to ascend" or "to rise," while in Hebrew, the name is derived from the word "aliyah," which means "ascent" or "rising." The name is believed to have originated in the Middle East during ancient times.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Alylah can be found in ancient texts and historical records from the region. In Islamic traditions, the name is mentioned in various hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) and is associated with concepts of spiritual elevation and growth.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Alylah was a 9th-century Muslim scholar and poet from Persia, known for her contributions to literature and philosophy. Another notable figure was Alylah bint al-Mutanabbi, a 10th-century Arab princess and patron of the arts, who was renowned for her intellectual pursuits and support of poets and writers.
In the 12th century, Alylah al-Baghdadi was a renowned mathematician and astronomer from Baghdad, whose works on geometry and celestial mechanics were highly influential during the Islamic Golden Age.
During the Ottoman Empire, Alylah Hanum was a prominent figure in the 16th century, known for her philanthropy and support of educational institutions in the region.
In more recent history, Alylah Guevara was a 20th-century Nicaraguan activist and revolutionary, who played a significant role in the Sandinista National Liberation Front's struggle against the Somoza dictatorship.
While the name Alylah has deep roots in the Middle East and Islamic cultures, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in recent decades. However, the historical and cultural significance of the name remains firmly rooted in its Arabic and Hebrew origins, symbolizing spiritual ascent and personal growth.
People
Alylah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alylah 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
Alylah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alylah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 189 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alylah 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 1,813,515 US residents.
Is Alylah a common name?
We classify Alylah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 190 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alylah most popular?
The single biggest year for Alylah was 2024, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alylah is about 8 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 Alylah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alylah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alylah 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 Alylah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alylah 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 Alylah 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 Alylah?
You can see how many Americans are named Alylah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.