Chayla
A variant spelling of Shayla, a feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift from God" or "precious".
Name Census estimates that about 922 living Americans carry the first name Chayla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chayla today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chayla births was 2003 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chayla. 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
922
~ 1 in 371,751 Americans
Peak year
2003
43 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,790
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Chayla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chayla from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 328 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
Chayla 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 Chayla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Chaylas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Chayla, while Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chayla
The name Chayla has its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic word "khayala," which means "imagination" or "fantasy." This suggests that the name was originally chosen to reflect a sense of creativity and imaginative spirit.
In the early days of Islam, the name Chayla was relatively uncommon, but it gained popularity in certain regions of the Middle East, particularly in areas where Arabic was the predominant language. It is believed that one of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical documents from the Umayyad Caliphate, which ruled from 661 to 750 CE.
During the medieval period, the name Chayla appeared in various literary works and historical accounts, though its usage remained relatively limited. One notable figure from this era was Chayla al-Andalusi, a renowned poet and scholar from Andalusia (modern-day Spain) who lived in the 11th century. Her contributions to Arabic literature and philosophy were highly regarded.
As the centuries passed, the name Chayla continued to be used across various Arabic-speaking regions, though its popularity waxed and waned. In the 19th century, a notable figure named Chayla Bint Al-Khatib emerged as a prominent educator and advocate for women's rights in the Ottoman Empire.
During the 20th century, the name gained more widespread recognition, particularly in the Middle East and among Arab communities around the world. One notable figure was Chayla Kaddour, an Algerian novelist and activist who wrote extensively about the struggles of women in her country during the 1960s and 1970s.
Another prominent individual with the name Chayla was Chayla Al-Jassim, a Kuwaiti businesswoman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to charitable organizations and women's empowerment initiatives in the late 20th century.
It is worth noting that while the name Chayla has deep roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has also been adopted and adapted by various other cultures and communities around the world, each with their own interpretations and associations.
People
Chayla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chayla as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chayla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chayla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 922 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chayla 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 371,751 US residents.
Is Chayla a common name?
We classify Chayla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 949 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chayla most popular?
The single biggest year for Chayla was 2003, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chayla is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Chayla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chayla 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.