Leeyah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "exalted, sublime" or "highest hope".
Name Census estimates that about 379 living Americans carry the first name Leeyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leeyah today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leeyah births was 2011 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leeyah. 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 Leeyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
379
~ 1 in 904,365 Americans
Peak year
2011
35 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,752
Tracked since 1994
Census
Leeyah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 296 people with the first name Leeyah, which placed it at #29,744 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
#29,744
National first-name rank
People counted
296
296 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leeyah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leeyah is Black at 47.0%. The next largest groups are White (20.9%) and Hispanic (19.3%). 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 Leeyah 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 Leeyah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.0% · 139
- White20.9% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino19.3% · 57
- Two or more races9.1% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 5
Popularity
Leeyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leeyah 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 219 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leeyah 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 Leeyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leeyahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Leeyah, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leeyah
The name Leeyah is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back several centuries. It is derived from the word "Liya," which means "shelter" or "protection." This suggests that the name may have been given to children as a symbolic gesture, wishing them safety and security throughout their lives.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leeyah can be found in the writings of the renowned Arabic scholar and philosopher, Ibn Rushd, who lived from 1126 to 1198 CE. In his works, he made reference to a woman named Leeyah, who was known for her wisdom and intellectual prowess.
During the 12th century, the name Leeyah gained prominence in the Islamic world, particularly in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa. It was often associated with individuals of noble or scholarly backgrounds, as evidenced by the presence of several notable figures bearing this name.
One such figure was Leeyah al-Andalusiya, a renowned poet and scholar who lived in Andalusia, modern-day Spain, during the 11th century. Her works were widely celebrated and influenced the literary traditions of the time.
Another notable individual with the name Leeyah was Leeyah bint al-Hakim, a princess and patron of the arts who lived in Egypt during the 11th century. She was known for her support of artists, writers, and scholars, and her court was a center of cultural and intellectual activity.
In the 13th century, a prominent Muslim mystic and scholar, Leeyah al-Khayyami, gained recognition for her teachings on spirituality and her contributions to the field of Sufism. Her writings and teachings had a significant impact on the spiritual traditions of the region.
As the name Leeyah spread across different cultures and regions, it underwent slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. In some areas, it was written as "Liya" or "Laya," while in others, it was pronounced with a slight emphasis on the second syllable, resulting in variations like "Leeya" or "Leeyya."
Over the centuries, the name Leeyah has retained its cultural significance and has been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds, including writers, scholars, artists, and leaders. Its rich history and meaning have contributed to its enduring popularity across various regions and communities.
People
Leeyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leeyah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Leeyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leeyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 379 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leeyah 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 904,365 US residents.
Is Leeyah a common name?
We classify Leeyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leeyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Leeyah was 2011, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leeyah 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 Leeyah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 296 people with the name Leeyah, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,744 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 Leeyah 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 Leeyah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leeyah appears almost entirely female. Of the 290 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Leeyah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leeyah is Black at 47.0%. The next largest groups are White (20.9%) and Hispanic (19.3%). 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 Leeyah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Leeyah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.0% (139 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 Leeyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leeyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Leeyah 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 Leeyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leeyah 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 Leeyah 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 are called Leeyah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.