Jaleyah
Of Arabic origin, meaning "elevated" or "superior".
Name Census estimates that about 588 living Americans carry the first name Jaleyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jaleyah today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaleyah births was 2011 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaleyah. 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
588
~ 1 in 582,916 Americans
Peak year
2011
45 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,742
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Jaleyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaleyah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 327 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jaleyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jaleyah 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 Jaleyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jaleyahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Florida, California, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Jaleyah, while Ohio, North Carolina, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jaleyah
The name Jaleyah is a relatively modern name with origins that are not entirely clear. It is thought to be a variation of the Arabic name Jaliyah, which means "exiled" or "banished." This could potentially be a reference to the historical expulsion of Muslim populations from various regions, though the connection is tenuous.
Another theory suggests that Jaleyah is a combination of the names Jaleesa and Leah. Jaleesa is an Arabic name meaning "sitting companion," while Leah is a Hebrew name meaning "weary" or "tired." If this etymology is correct, Jaleyah could be interpreted as a unique blend of these two linguistic traditions.
Historically, the name Jaleyah does not appear to have been widely used until the late 20th century. There are no notable figures from ancient or medieval times known to have borne this name. The earliest recorded instances seem to be from the latter half of the 20th century, likely as a result of the increasing popularity of unique and creative baby names during this period.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Jaleyah is Jaleyah Clark, an American singer and songwriter born in 1987. She is best known for her participation in the reality TV show "The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll" in 2007.
Another notable Jaleyah is Jaleyah Robbins, an American basketball player who played for the University of Tennessee from 2008 to 2012. She was a member of the Lady Volunteers team that won the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2008.
In the world of literature, there is Jaleyah Garner, an American author and poet born in 1985. She is best known for her poetry collections "Butterfly Kisses" and "Spoken Word Unspoken," which explore themes of identity, self-love, and empowerment.
Jaleyah Williams is an American dancer and choreographer who has worked with several high-profile artists, including Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Jennifer Lopez. She was born in 1990 and has earned recognition for her innovative choreography and dynamic performances.
Finally, Jaleyah Thomason is a Canadian volleyball player who has represented her country at the international level. Born in 1994, she has competed in various tournaments, including the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix and the Pan American Games.
While the name Jaleyah may be relatively new and its origins somewhat ambiguous, it has already been borne by several notable individuals across various fields, ranging from sports and entertainment to literature and the arts.
People
Jaleyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaleyah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jaleyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaleyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 588 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaleyah 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 582,916 US residents.
Is Jaleyah a common name?
We classify Jaleyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 593 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaleyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaleyah was 2011, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaleyah is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jaleyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaleyah 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.