Dalayah
An Arabic feminine name meaning "guide" or "torchbearer".
Name Census estimates that about 270 living Americans carry the first name Dalayah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dalayah today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dalayah births was 2020 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dalayah. 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
270
~ 1 in 1,269,461 Americans
Peak year
2020
27 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,906
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Dalayah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dalayah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 128 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
Dalayah 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 Dalayah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dalayahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dalayah
The name Dalayah is a relatively modern invention, likely derived from the Arabic word "dalal" meaning "guide" or "leader." It appears to have originated in the late 20th century, possibly among Arabic-speaking communities in the Middle East or North Africa.
While the name itself has no known historical references or appearances in ancient texts or scriptures, its root word "dalal" can be traced back to the Arabic language's inception in the 6th century CE. The name's unique spelling and pronunciation suggest it was created by blending the Arabic root with a Western-style suffix.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dalayah is difficult to pinpoint due to its recent emergence. However, a few notable individuals have carried this name in recent decades. Dalayah Amos, an American social media influencer and model, was born in 1998. Dalayah Daniels, an American professional basketball player, was born in 1995.
Another individual named Dalayah is Dalayah Brown, an American singer and songwriter who gained recognition as a contestant on the television series "The Voice" in 2018. While her birth year is not widely publicized, she is believed to be in her early to mid-20s.
Additionally, there is a Dalayah Sampson, an American track and field athlete who competes in sprinting events. She was born in 1999 and has represented the United States in international competitions.
Lastly, Dalayah Horne is an American actress and model, born in 1996. She has appeared in various television shows and films, including the popular series "Empire" on Fox.
It's worth noting that while these individuals share the same first name, their backgrounds and paths to adopting the name Dalayah may vary, reflecting the name's relatively recent and diverse origins.
People
Dalayah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dalayah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dalayah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dalayah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 270 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dalayah 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 1,269,461 US residents.
Is Dalayah a common name?
We classify Dalayah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 272 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dalayah most popular?
The single biggest year for Dalayah was 2020, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dalayah is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dalayah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dalayah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dalayah 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.
Is Dalayah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dalayah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dalayah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Dalayah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.