Aniah
A feminine name of indeterminate origin meaning "favor" or "grace."
Name Census estimates that about 3,187 living Americans carry the first name Aniah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aniah today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aniah births was 2006 (230 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aniah. 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
- • Aniah 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
3.2K
~ 1 in 107,548 Americans
Peak year
2006
230 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,654
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Aniah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aniah 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 1,673 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
Aniah 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 Aniah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aniahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Aniah, while Minnesota, Kentucky, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 73 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aniah
The name Aniah is a relatively modern variation of the traditional Hebrew name Anaiah, which is derived from the Hebrew word "Anah" meaning "to answer" or "respond." It is believed to have emerged as a distinct name in the late 20th century, likely as a creative spelling or adaptation of the more common biblical name Hannah.
While the name Aniah does not have a long recorded history, its roots can be traced back to ancient Hebrew texts and biblical references. The name Anaiah is mentioned in the Old Testament as the name of a Levite priest during the reign of King David. This connection to the priesthood and religious scripture may have contributed to the appeal of the name Aniah as a modern variant.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Aniah can be found in the late 20th century. In 1998, American actress and singer Aniah Blanchard was born, although her name was often misspelled as Anayah or Ania. Despite her relatively short life, Aniah Blanchard gained recognition for her roles in various TV shows and films before her tragic death in 2019.
Another notable figure with the name Aniah is Aniah Leake, an American professional basketball player born in 1996. Leake played college basketball for the University of West Virginia before being drafted into the WNBA in 2018, where she currently plays for the Los Angeles Sparks.
In the realm of literature, Aniah is the name of a character in the young adult novel "The Shadowhunter's Codex" by Cassandra Clare, published in 2013. While a fictional character, this literary reference may have contributed to the growing popularity of the name in recent years.
Aniah Maddox, born in 2005, is another individual who has gained recognition in the field of child acting. She has appeared in various television shows and movies, including the popular series "The Walking Dead" and the film "The Hate U Give" in 2018.
Lastly, Aniah Gabriella is a British singer and songwriter born in 1997. She has released several singles and gained a following on social media platforms, showcasing her talent as a rising artist in the music industry.
While the name Aniah is relatively new and its historical roots are not as deeply rooted as some more traditional names, its connection to biblical and literary references, as well as its increasing presence in popular culture, suggest that it may continue to gain popularity in the years to come.
People
Aniah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aniah 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
Aniah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aniah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,187 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aniah 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 107,548 US residents.
Is Aniah a common name?
We classify Aniah as "Rare". It ranks above 95.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,225 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aniah most popular?
The single biggest year for Aniah was 2006, when 230 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aniah is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Aniah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aniah 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.