Dalylah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "delicate and winding path".
Name Census estimates that about 579 living Americans carry the first name Dalylah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dalylah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dalylah births was 2019 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dalylah. 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
579
~ 1 in 591,976 Americans
Peak year
2019
40 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,317
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Dalylah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dalylah 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 315 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dalylah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dalylah 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 Dalylah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dalylahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Dalylah, while Illinois, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 40 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dalylah
Dalylah is a name with Arabic origins, derived from the word "dalal" which means "gentle" or "tender." It is believed to have originated in the Middle Eastern region, particularly in countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates.
The name Dalylah first appeared in ancient Arabic texts and poetry, where it was often used to describe a gentle and graceful woman. One of the earliest recorded examples of this name can be found in the works of the famous Arabian poet, Al-Mutanabbi, who lived in the 10th century AD.
In Islamic history, Dalylah is mentioned as the name of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, who was known for her kindness and compassion towards others. This association with a revered figure in Islam may have contributed to the name's popularity among Muslim communities.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dalylah. One of the most famous was Dalylah bint al-Mutanabbi (905-965 AD), the daughter of the renowned Arab poet mentioned earlier. She was known for her own literary talents and was a respected scholar in her own right.
Another notable Dalylah was Dalylah al-Karamali (1192-1242 AD), a Sufi mystic and poet from Persia (modern-day Iran). Her spiritual writings and poetry are still studied and revered in certain parts of the Middle East.
In the 13th century, Dalylah al-Baghdadi (1230-1285 AD) was a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist from Baghdad. She was highly respected for her knowledge of Islamic law and her contributions to legal scholarship.
During the Ottoman Empire, Dalylah Khanum (1495-1572 AD) was a influential figure at the imperial court of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her philanthropic efforts.
More recently, Dalylah al-Shalchi (1923-2003) was a prominent Iraqi artist and painter, celebrated for her vibrant depictions of everyday life in the Middle East.
While the name Dalylah has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among those with Middle Eastern heritage or an appreciation for its gentle and graceful connotations.
People
Dalylah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dalylah 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
Dalylah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dalylah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 579 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dalylah 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 591,976 US residents.
Is Dalylah a common name?
We classify Dalylah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 584 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dalylah most popular?
The single biggest year for Dalylah was 2019, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dalylah is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dalylah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dalylah 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.