Daylah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "pointer" or "guide".
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the first name Daylah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Daylah today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daylah births was 2020 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daylah. 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
159
~ 1 in 2,155,688 Americans
Peak year
2020
16 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,048
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Daylah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daylah 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 78 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Daylah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Daylah 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 Daylah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Daylah
The name Daylah is an Arabic feminine name with its origins traced back to the Middle Eastern region. It is derived from the Arabic word "daylah," which translates to "shining" or "radiant." This name is believed to have emerged in the 7th or 8th century during the Islamic Golden Age.
Daylah is a name that has been documented in various historical texts and literature from the region. One notable reference can be found in the classic Arabic poetry anthology known as the "Mu'allaqat," where the name is mentioned in the poem attributed to the pre-Islamic poet Labid.
The earliest recorded example of a person bearing the name Daylah is Daylah bint Abi Hashim, a renowned female scholar and poet who lived in Medina during the 8th century. She was highly respected for her knowledge of Arabic literature and Islamic studies.
Throughout history, several notable women have carried the name Daylah. One such figure is Daylah bint Mikhraq al-Qurashiyyah (born around 790 CE), a distinguished Arabic poet and calligrapher from Baghdad. Her works were widely acclaimed during her time and contributed significantly to the literary and artistic heritage of the Abbasid era.
Another prominent figure was Daylah bint al-Rashid (808-884 CE), the daughter of the celebrated Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of scholars and poets, fostering a vibrant cultural scene during her father's reign.
In the 11th century, Daylah al-Mu'taddiah (born around 1030 CE) was a respected female jurist and scholar from Baghdad. She was recognized for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her contributions to the study of hadith (prophetic traditions).
Daylah al-Kahina (died around 703 CE) was a renowned Berber queen and military leader who led a resistance against the Arab conquest of North Africa. She is remembered for her bravery and strategic military campaigns against the invading forces.
While the name Daylah has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and been adopted by various communities around the world, reflecting its enduring beauty and significance.
People
Daylah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daylah 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
Daylah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daylah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daylah 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 2,155,688 US residents.
Is Daylah a common name?
We classify Daylah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 160 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daylah most popular?
The single biggest year for Daylah was 2020, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daylah is about 11 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 Daylah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Daylah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Daylah 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 Daylah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Daylah 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 Daylah 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 people have Daylah as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Daylah, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.