Arelia
A feminine name of undetermined origin, potentially meaning "lion of God".
Name Census estimates that about 200 living Americans carry the first name Arelia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Arelia today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arelia births was 2017 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arelia. 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
200
~ 1 in 1,713,772 Americans
Peak year
2017
13 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,468
Tracked since 1912
Popularity
Arelia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arelia from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 51 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arelia 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 Arelia 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 Arelia
The given name Arelia is believed to have originated from the Latin language, with its roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Latin word "arelia," which means "golden" or "sun-like." This name is closely related to the word "aurelia," which also stems from the Latin word for gold.
In ancient Roman culture, the name Arelia may have been associated with the goddess of the sun, Aurora, or with the golden hues of the sunrise and sunset. It was likely given to children born during the early morning hours or those whose births coincided with particularly vibrant sunrises or sunsets.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arelia can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned a woman named Arelia in his work "Ab Urbe Condita" (The History of Rome). This work, written in the 1st century BC, suggests that the name was in use during the early Roman era.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Arelia. One of the most famous was Arelia Paulina, a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century AD and was the wife of the Roman general and statesman Lucius Aelius Plautius. She was known for her wealth and extravagance, and was said to have owned a vast collection of jewelry and precious stones.
Another notable Arelia was Arelia Galla, a Roman empress who lived in the 3rd century AD. She was the wife of the Roman emperor Hostilian and briefly ruled as the empress of the Roman Empire in 251 AD.
In the Middle Ages, the name Arelia was sometimes used by members of the nobility and aristocracy. One such individual was Arelia of Montpellier, a 12th-century French noblewoman who was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the Crusades.
In the Renaissance era, the name Arelia gained popularity among artists and intellectuals. One notable bearer of the name was Arelia Petrucci, an Italian poet and writer who lived in the 16th century and was known for her works celebrating the beauty of nature and the human spirit.
Moving forward in history, the 19th century saw the rise of an Arelia who made significant contributions to the field of education. Arelia Stith was an American educator and advocate for women's rights who founded several schools for girls in the southern United States during the mid-1800s.
People
Arelia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arelia 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
Arelia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arelia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 200 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arelia 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 1,713,772 US residents.
Is Arelia a common name?
We classify Arelia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 301 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arelia most popular?
The single biggest year for Arelia was 2017, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arelia is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Arelia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arelia 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.