Delailah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "delicate and languishing".
Name Census estimates that about 165 living Americans carry the first name Delailah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Delailah today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delailah births was 2009 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delailah. 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
165
~ 1 in 2,077,299 Americans
Peak year
2009
15 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,450
Tracked since 2002
Census
Delailah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 158 people with the first name Delailah, which placed it at #44,091 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#44,091
National first-name rank
People counted
158
158 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
79.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delailah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delailah is Hispanic at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.8%) and Black (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Delailah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Delailah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino79.7% · 126
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.8% · 17
- Black or African American4.4% · 7
- White2.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 2
- Two or more races1.3% · 2
Popularity
Delailah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delailah 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 83 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Delailah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delailah 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 Delailah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delailahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Delailah
The name Delailah is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Delilah, which means "delicate" or "weak." It is believed to have emerged during ancient times in the Near East region, now encompassing parts of modern-day Israel, Palestine, and surrounding areas.
The name Delilah is most famously associated with the biblical character Delilah, a woman mentioned in the Book of Judges. In the story, Delilah betrays her lover Samson by cutting his hair, which was the source of his great strength, leading to his capture by the Philistines.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Delailah can be found in the ancient Hebrew texts, specifically the Book of Judges, which is believed to have been written between the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. This biblical reference has contributed to the name's enduring popularity throughout history.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Delailah. One of the most famous was Delailah McDanic (1910-1991), an American singer and actress who rose to prominence during the 1930s and 1940s. She was known for her sultry voice and appeared in numerous films and stage productions.
Another notable Delailah was Delailah Ramirez (1923-2008), a Mexican artist and activist. She was renowned for her vibrant and colorful paintings that celebrated her indigenous heritage and advocated for the rights of marginalized communities.
In the literary world, Delailah Litchfield (1887-1976) was a celebrated American poet and novelist. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, earning her numerous accolades and a lasting legacy in the literary canon.
Delailah Brill (1901-1983) was a pioneering German scientist who made significant contributions to the field of genetics. Her groundbreaking research on hereditary traits and gene expression paved the way for advancements in modern biology and medicine.
Lastly, Delailah Khumalo (1957-2009) was a South African activist and human rights defender. She played a crucial role in the anti-apartheid movement and fought tirelessly for social justice and equality throughout her life.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Delailah, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the richness and diversity of human experience.
People
Delailah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delailah 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
Delailah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delailah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 165 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delailah 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 2,077,299 US residents.
Is Delailah a common name?
We classify Delailah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 166 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delailah most popular?
The single biggest year for Delailah was 2009, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delailah is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delailah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 158 people with the name Delailah, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,091 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Delailah in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Delailah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delailah appears almost entirely female. Of the 161 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Delailah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delailah is Hispanic at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.8%) and Black (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Delailah most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Delailah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (126 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Delailah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delailah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delailah 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 Delailah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delailah 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 Delailah 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.
How many people share the name Delailah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.