Ileyah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Ileyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ileyah today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ileyah births was 2008 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ileyah. 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 Ileyah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
2008
6 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2013 SSA rank
#17,582
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Ileyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ileyah from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 16 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Ileyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ileyah 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 Ileyah 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 Ileyah
The name Ileyah has its origins in Hebrew and Arabic languages, and it is believed to have emerged during the ancient times. The name is derived from the Hebrew word "Eliyah," which means "God is my Lord" or "Jehovah is God." In Arabic, the name is spelled as "Ileya" and is a variation of the name Elijah.
In the Bible, Elijah was a prominent prophet in the Old Testament who lived during the 9th century BCE. He is revered in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for his unwavering faith and miraculous deeds. The name Ileyah is a modern variation of this ancient name, reflecting its deep religious and cultural significance.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Ileyah can be found in ancient Hebrew texts and manuscripts from the Middle Ages. During this period, the name was primarily used by Jewish communities in the Middle East and Europe.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Ileyah or its variations. One of the most famous was Ileyah ben Shlomo, a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 11th century in Spain. He made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and theology.
Another notable figure was Ileyah al-Andalusi, an Arabic poet and writer who lived in the 10th century in the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal). His works were highly influential in the development of Arabic literature and poetry during the Golden Age of Islamic culture.
In the 19th century, Ileyah Delos Reyes was a Filipino revolutionary and activist who fought against Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. She played a crucial role in the Philippine Revolution and is remembered as a symbol of courage and patriotism.
Ileyah Kushnir was a Soviet-Ukrainian writer and poet who lived from 1927 to 1985. She gained recognition for her poetic works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience. Her poetry collections were widely acclaimed and translated into several languages.
Ileyah Harik was a Lebanese-American writer and academic who lived from 1936 to 2015. She was a prominent figure in the field of Middle Eastern studies and authored several books on Arab politics, culture, and society.
While the name Ileyah has ancient roots and a rich cultural heritage, its popularity has fluctuated over time and across different regions. However, it continues to be a cherished name, carrying the essence of its sacred origins and the spirit of those who have borne it throughout history.
People
Ileyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ileyah 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
Ileyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ileyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ileyah 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 Ileyah a common name?
We classify Ileyah 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, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ileyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Ileyah was 2008, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ileyah is about 19 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 Ileyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ileyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ileyah 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 Ileyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ileyah 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 Ileyah 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 are named Ileyah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.