Ayelet
A feminine Hebrew name meaning "female deer".
Name Census estimates that about 912 living Americans carry the first name Ayelet. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ayelet today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ayelet births was 2023 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ayelet. 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
912
~ 1 in 375,827 Americans
Peak year
2023
45 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,027
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Ayelet: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ayelet from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 294 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Ayelet remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ayelet 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 Ayelet during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ayelets live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Ayelet, while Maryland, New Jersey, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 89 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ayelet
Ayelet is a Hebrew name derived from the word "ayyal," meaning deer or gazelle. It is a feminine given name that originated in ancient Israel, where gazelles were revered for their grace, swiftness, and beauty. The earliest known reference to the name dates back to the biblical Book of Proverbs, where it is mentioned as a term of endearment.
In ancient Hebrew culture, the name Ayelet was often associated with attributes such as agility, elegance, and purity. It was commonly bestowed upon girls born into families of high social standing or those with a deep connection to nature and the wilderness.
The first recorded instance of the name Ayelet can be traced back to the 10th century BCE, when it was mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls as the name of a young woman from the tribe of Judah. This ancient manuscript provides one of the earliest known examples of the name's usage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Ayelet. One of the most famous was Ayelet Shaked (born in 1976), an Israeli politician who served as the Minister of Justice from 2015 to 2019. Another prominent bearer of the name was Ayelet Zurer (born in 1969), an Israeli actress known for her roles in films such as "Munich" and "Man of Steel."
In the world of literature, the name Ayelet gained prominence through the works of Israeli author Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888-1970), who frequently used it in his writings to symbolize the beauty and innocence of his characters.
Other notable individuals with the name Ayelet include Ayelet Shachar (born in 1970), an Israeli philosopher and professor at the University of Toronto, and Ayelet Waldman (born in 1964), an American novelist and essayist known for her works on mental health and feminism.
While the name Ayelet has its roots in ancient Hebrew culture, it has since transcended its origins and gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly among Jewish communities and those with a connection to Israeli culture and heritage.
People
Ayelet + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ayelet 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
Ayelet: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ayelet?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 912 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ayelet 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 375,827 US residents.
Is Ayelet a common name?
We classify Ayelet as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 932 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ayelet most popular?
The single biggest year for Ayelet was 2023, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ayelet is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ayelet a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ayelet 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.