Lelah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly related to the Hebrew "lilah" meaning "night."
Name Census estimates that about 701 living Americans carry the first name Lelah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lelah today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lelah births was 1915 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lelah. 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
701
~ 1 in 488,951 Americans
Peak year
1915
43 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,697
Tracked since 1881
Popularity
Lelah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lelah from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 309 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lelah 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 Lelah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lelahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia recorded the most babies named Lelah, while Iowa, California, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lelah
The name Lelah is an English given name with uncertain origins. It is believed to have emerged in the late 19th or early 20th century as a variant or feminine form of the name Lela. The name Lela itself is thought to be derived from the Hebrew name Leah, which means "weary" or "tired." However, the exact etymology and meaning of Lelah is unclear.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Lelah can be found in the United States Census records from the late 19th century, suggesting that the name was in use, albeit rare, during that time period. Some sources speculate that the name may have been influenced by the Arabic word "lailah," meaning "night," but there is no concrete evidence to support this theory.
Throughout history, a few notable individuals have borne the name Lelah. One example is Lelah Poundstone (1886-1973), an American journalist and author who wrote for publications such as The New York Times and The Saturday Evening Post. Another is Lelah Willingham (1904-1982), an American actress who appeared in numerous films and television shows during the mid-20th century.
Beyond these examples, the name Lelah has remained relatively uncommon, particularly in comparison to its more widely known variant, Leah. It is worth noting that while the name Lelah has appeared in various historical records and contexts, it has not been widely documented in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or other significant historical sources.
Other notable individuals with the name Lelah include Lelah Skirvin Boykin (1877-1956), an American educator and civil rights activist who worked to establish schools for African American children in Oklahoma. Lelah Owen Nelson (1896-1987) was an American artist known for her landscape paintings and murals commissioned by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression.
Lelah Behlor (1909-2005) was an American politician who served in the Missouri House of Representatives and as the first woman elected as Auditor of Jackson County, Missouri. While these individuals may not be widely recognized, their contributions in various fields have left a lasting impact and serve as examples of those who have carried the name Lelah throughout history.
People
Lelah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lelah 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
Lelah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lelah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 701 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lelah 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 488,951 US residents.
Is Lelah a common name?
We classify Lelah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lelah most popular?
The single biggest year for Lelah was 1915, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lelah is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lelah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lelah 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.