Ihla
An Arabic feminine name meaning "a gazelle's eye" or "beautiful eyes".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Ihla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ihla today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ihla births was 2019 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ihla. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ihla. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
2019
7 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,737
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Ihla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ihla from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 12 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
Ihla 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 Ihla 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 Ihla
The name Ihla is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, deriving from the word "ilha" which means "island." This suggests that the name may have roots in the Middle Eastern or North African regions, where Arabic is widely spoken. The earliest known use of the name dates back to the 7th century AD, coinciding with the rise of Islam and the spread of Arabic culture across various parts of the world.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Ihla was Ihla bint Abi Bakr, a prominent figure in early Islamic history. She was the daughter of Abu Bakr, the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, and was born in the late 6th century AD. Ihla's name likely held significance within her family and cultural context, reflecting their connection to the Arabic language and Islamic traditions.
In the 11th century, Ihla al-Andalusiyya was a renowned poet and scholar from Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain). Born in Cordoba in 1009 AD, she was celebrated for her literary contributions and her mastery of various fields, including poetry, grammar, and calligraphy. Her name, Ihla al-Andalusiyya, suggests a connection to the Iberian Peninsula and the rich cultural heritage of the region during the time of Islamic rule.
During the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt (1250-1517 AD), there was a notable figure named Ihla al-Mamlukiyya, who served as a high-ranking official in the Mamluk court. Although little is known about her personal life, her name indicates her association with the Mamluk dynasty and the influential political and cultural centers of that era.
In the 16th century, Ihla al-Maghribiyya was a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from the Maghreb region of North Africa. Born in Fez, Morocco, in 1520 AD, she was renowned for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her contributions to the study of Maliki fiqh (Islamic law). Her name, al-Maghribiyya, refers to her origins in the western part of the Arab world.
Another noteworthy individual with the name Ihla was Ihla al-Misriyya, a celebrated poet and calligrapher from Egypt in the 18th century. Born in Cairo in 1712 AD, she was revered for her artistic talents and her mastery of Arabic calligraphy, which was highly valued in the Islamic cultural tradition of that period.
People
Ihla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ihla as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ihla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ihla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ihla 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Ihla a common name?
We classify Ihla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 35 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ihla most popular?
The single biggest year for Ihla was 2019, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ihla is about 13 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 Ihla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ihla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ihla 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 Ihla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ihla 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 Ihla 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 Ihla?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.