Ariella
A feminine Hebrew name meaning "lion of God".
Name Census estimates that about 20,389 living Americans carry the first name Ariella. It sits at #196 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ariella today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ariella births was 2020 (1,801 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ariella. 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
- • Ariella is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
20K
~ 1 in 16,811 Americans
Peak year
2020
1,801 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2022 SSA rank
#196
Tracked since 1967
Gender
Gender distribution for Ariella
Out of the 20,607 babies given the name Ariella since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Ariella as a male name
- Ranked #12,491 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (5 births)
Ariella as a female name
- Ranked #196 in 2024
- 1,559 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (1,801 births)
Popularity
Ariella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ariella from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 8,443 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
Ariella 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 Ariella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ariellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Ariella, while Montana, Mississippi, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 395 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ariella
The name Ariella has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew name Ariel, which is a combination of two Hebrew words: "ari" meaning "lion" and "el" meaning "God." The name Ariel is found in the Bible, where it is used as a symbolic name for Jerusalem.
In Hebrew, the name Ariella is a feminine form of Ariel, often translated as "lion of God" or "lioness of God." The addition of the "a" at the end of the name is a common way to create a feminine version of a name in many languages, including Hebrew.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ariella is from the Middle Ages, where it was used by Jewish communities in Europe and the Middle East. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Ariella de Modena, an Italian Jewish scholar and poet who lived in the 16th century.
Throughout history, the name Ariella has been borne by several notable individuals. In the 17th century, Ariella Ferrera was a Jewish writer and translator from Italy. In the 18th century, Ariella Naldi was an Italian opera singer and composer. In the 20th century, Ariella Reggio was an Italian actress known for her work in Italian cinema.
Another famous Ariella is Ariella Kaeslin, a Swiss figure skater who competed in the 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics. Ariella Arida, born in 1988, is a Filipino actress and model who won the Miss Universe Philippines title in 2013.
While the name Ariella has its roots in Hebrew culture, it has gained popularity across various cultures and regions over time. It is a name that carries a sense of strength and divine connection, reflecting its origins as a feminine form of the symbolic name Ariel.
People
Ariella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ariella 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
Ariella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ariella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 20,389 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ariella 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 16,811 US residents.
Is Ariella a common name?
We classify Ariella as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20,607 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ariella most popular?
The single biggest year for Ariella was 2020, when 1,801 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ariella is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ariella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ariella 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.