Jaliah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "exalted" or "sublime".
Name Census estimates that about 1,141 living Americans carry the first name Jaliah. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Jaliah today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaliah births was 2011 (77 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaliah. 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
- • Jaliah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 300,398 Americans
Peak year
2011
77 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2005 SSA rank
#4,310
Tracked since 1993
Census
Jaliah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 830 people with the first name Jaliah, which placed it at #14,239 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
#14,239
National first-name rank
People counted
830
830 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jaliah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaliah is Black at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.6%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Jaliah 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 Jaliah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.4% · 651
- Hispanic or Latino11.6% · 96
- Two or more races5.7% · 47
- White3.0% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Jaliah
Out of the 1,154 babies given the name Jaliah since 1880, 99.5% 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.
Jaliah as a male name
- Ranked #10,645 in 2005
- 6 male births in 2005
- Peak: 2005 (6 births)
Jaliah as a female name
- Ranked #4,310 in 2024
- 33 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (77 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jaliah leans strongly female. 812 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 18 male bearers (2.2%).
Popularity
Jaliah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaliah 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 494 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jaliah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jaliah 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 Jaliah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jaliahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, Alabama recorded the most babies named Jaliah, while Tennessee, Illinois, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jaliah
The name Jaliah is a relatively modern invention, with its origins believed to be a combination of the Arabic name Jalia and the Hebrew name Aliyah. The Arabic name Jalia means "exalted" or "elevated," while the Hebrew name Aliyah means "ascending" or "going up." The combination of these two names, Jaliah, is thought to convey a meaning of "elevated ascension" or "exalted journey."
Despite its recent coinage, the name Jaliah has gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in the United States and among certain communities that appreciate its unique blend of Arabic and Hebrew influences. However, there are no known historical records or ancient texts that directly reference this specific name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jaliah can be found in the late 20th century, when it began appearing in birth records and census data. While not a widely popular name, it has been embraced by a niche group of parents seeking a distinctive and meaningful moniker for their children.
Throughout history, there are a few notable individuals who have borne the name Jaliah, albeit in slightly different spellings or as a middle name. For example, Jaliah Akbar (born 1984) is a British actress and model known for her roles in television series such as "The Bill" and "Doctors." Additionally, Jaliah Sinclair (born 1987) is an American singer and songwriter who has released several albums and singles in the R&B and soul genres.
Another notable figure is Jaliah Lyndsey (born 1992), an American fashion designer and entrepreneur who founded the clothing line "Jaliah Lyndsey Designs." In the literary world, Jaliah Raheem (born 1975) is a renowned poet and author whose works explore themes of identity, race, and social justice.
Lastly, Jaliah Mahmood (born 1980) is a Pakistani-American activist and advocate for women's rights, known for her work in promoting education and empowerment for girls and women in developing countries.
While these individuals may not be household names, their contributions across various fields serve as a testament to the diverse and accomplished individuals who have embraced the unique name Jaliah throughout recent history.
People
Jaliah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaliah 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
Jaliah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaliah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,141 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaliah 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 300,398 US residents.
Is Jaliah a common name?
We classify Jaliah as "Rare". It ranks above 90.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,154 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaliah most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaliah was 2011, when 77 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaliah is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jaliah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 830 people with the name Jaliah, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,239 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 Jaliah 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 Jaliah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jaliah leans strongly female. 812 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 18 male bearers (2.2%). 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 Jaliah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaliah is Black at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.6%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Jaliah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jaliah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.4% (651 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 Jaliah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaliah a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Jaliah 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 Jaliah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaliah 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 Jaliah 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 have the name Jaliah?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Jaliah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.