Delaila
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "one who is small and delicate".
Name Census estimates that about 305 living Americans carry the first name Delaila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delaila today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delaila births was 2008 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delaila. 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
305
~ 1 in 1,123,785 Americans
Peak year
2008
22 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,861
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Delaila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delaila from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 142 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Delaila remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delaila 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 Delaila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delailas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Delaila
The name Delaila has its origins in Arabic culture and language. It is a variant spelling of the name Delilah, which is derived from the Hebrew name "Delilah" (דלילה), meaning "delicate" or "languishing".
The name gained prominence in the biblical story of Samson and Delilah, where Delilah was a Philistine woman who betrayed Samson, leading to his downfall. This story is found in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. The name Delilah has been associated with beauty, seduction, and treachery due to this biblical narrative.
The earliest recorded use of the name Delaila can be traced back to the Middle Ages in the Arab world. It was a popular name among Muslim communities, particularly in North Africa and the Levant region. One notable historical figure with this name was Delaila bint Abi Hatim al-Ansari (died 656 CE), a renowned female scholar and poet from Medina.
In the 12th century, a famous Sufi mystic and poet from Persia, known as Delaila Rumi (1207-1288), gained widespread recognition for her spiritual poetry and teachings. Her works have been celebrated and studied for centuries in the Islamic world.
During the Ottoman Empire, the name Delaila was commonly used among the ruling elite and aristocracy. One notable example was Delaila Hatun (1495-1550), a powerful and influential Ottoman princess who was the daughter of Sultan Selim I and the sister of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
In more recent times, the name Delaila has been adopted by various cultures and ethnicities around the world. One famous contemporary figure with this name is Delaila Amiga (born 1982), a Mexican actress and model known for her roles in telenovelas and films.
While the name Delaila has its roots in Arabic and Hebrew origins, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained popularity across different regions and time periods, often carrying associations of beauty, charm, and sometimes, even betrayal, due to its biblical connotations.
People
Delaila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delaila 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
Delaila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delaila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 305 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delaila 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 1,123,785 US residents.
Is Delaila a common name?
We classify Delaila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delaila most popular?
The single biggest year for Delaila was 2008, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delaila is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Delaila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delaila 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.