Islah
An Arabic name meaning reform, improvement, or amendment.
Name Census estimates that about 542 living Americans carry the first name Islah. It is a predominantly female name (99.1% of registrations). The average person named Islah today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Islah births was 2020 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Islah. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Islah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
542
~ 1 in 632,388 Americans
Peak year
2020
70 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2016 SSA rank
#4,134
Tracked since 1977
Gender
Gender distribution for Islah
Out of the 546 babies given the name Islah since 1880, 99.1% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Islah as a male name
- Ranked #12,968 in 2016
- 5 male births in 2016
- Peak: 2016 (5 births)
Islah as a female name
- Ranked #4,134 in 2024
- 35 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (70 births)
Popularity
Islah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Islah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 285 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
Islah 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 Islah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Islahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Islah, while South Carolina, North Carolina, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Islah
The name Islah originates from Arabic and means "reform" or "correction". It is derived from the Arabic root word "salaha", which means "to correct" or "to put something right". This name has been used in the Arab world for centuries, though it gained broader popularity in more recent times.
The earliest recorded use of the name Islah can be traced back to the medieval Islamic era, when it was sometimes given to children as a reminder of the importance of moral rectitude and upholding Islamic principles. However, it was not a particularly common name during this period.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Islah was Islah Jawad (1860-1936), an Iraqi poet and literary critic who was a pioneer of the Arabic literary renaissance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was known for his efforts to revive and modernize Arabic poetry and literature.
Another prominent individual named Islah was Islah Gencer (1936-2018), a Turkish operatic soprano who was renowned for her interpretations of the dramatic soprano roles of the Italian and French operatic repertoires. She was particularly acclaimed for her performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini.
In the field of education, Islah Jad (born 1952) is a prominent Palestinian feminist and academic who has written extensively on gender issues in the Arab world. She is a professor of Women's Studies at Birzeit University in the West Bank and has been a vocal advocate for women's rights and empowerment.
Islah Halim (1881-1958) was an Egyptian judge and legal scholar who played a significant role in the development of modern Egyptian law. He served as the President of the Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest court, and was known for his efforts to modernize and codify Egyptian legal systems.
Finally, Islah Hussain (born 1964) is a Pakistani politician and former journalist who has served as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the government of Pakistan. She has been a vocal advocate for media freedom and has worked to promote transparency and accountability in government.
People
Islah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Islah 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
Islah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Islah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 542 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Islah 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 632,388 US residents.
Is Islah a common name?
We classify Islah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 546 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Islah most popular?
The single biggest year for Islah was 2020, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Islah is about 7 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 Islah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Islah a female name?
Yes, 99.1% of people registered as Islah 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 Islah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Islah 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 Islah 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 share the name Islah?
Want to know how many people share the name Islah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.